


Burn with you

by Filologa3



Category: Arrow (TV 2012) RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-12
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-03-01 03:04:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 31,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2757176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Filologa3/pseuds/Filologa3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The sequel of "Anothe Time, Another Place" which you can read here:<br/>http://archiveofourown.org/works/1703648/chapters/3626120</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

People say friends are the family we get to choose. Well, Emily couldn’t have chosen better. She had spent the summer of her life with her friends. They had been on the beach for a week because one of them had a house there. After that, they had gone to do some climbing in the mountains. Now they were spending the day in the river, just having fun.  
“Oh, guys… I’m gonna miss this”, Emily said.  
She was lying on an airbed in the river with her friend Fanta by her side. Colton and Jordan were on a different airbed, next to them.  
“Hey, you’re coming back to work tomorrow, not going to war! You won’t escape us any time soon”, Fanta replied half laughing.  
Emily smiled. “I know, but Colton and I will be so much busier and it will be difficult to share moments like this”.  
Colton sat up. “Then… let’s have fun now when we can. Because tomorrow… I won’t be able to do this!”, he screamed at the same time he splashed some water to the girls, making them turned around and shout.  
“Colton Haynes, this is the last thing you’ve done in your miserable life!”, Emily exclaimed, jumping off the airbed and going after Colton, who did the same and swam away.  
“They’re like kids…”, Jordan said.  
“Totally…”, she answered. They remained quiet and still for a few seconds, and suddenly they both started to splash water at each other.  
They all were kids. They all were young and embraced life as if there were no tomorrow. As if life was easy. As if nothing could go wrong. As if they were happy. And the truth was that even though she was indeed happy, Emily felt something missing in her heart. Something that made life even more precious than it already was. Something that turns you into a better person. Something called love. She flirted for a couple of weeks with Collin, the boy who worked at Starbucks, but it didn’t work out. They were very different after all. Ever since then she had devoted her summer to her friends and forgot about the opposite sex. Well, that is a lie. She had been writing a diary, but not a normal diary: she wrote everything she would like to tell to Stephen. She didn’t want to talk to him that summer because not talking to him would help her forget him, but it was quite difficult for her and so, she started to write a diary to convey anything she would wish to tell him. As if the diary was Stephen himself. She had told nobody about it. In fact, for the rest of the world it was as if she was totally over him, which couldn’t be further from reality. 

***

Stephen woke up quite early that day. He had to come back to work, which was rather exciting, but at 5 am in the morning he found it difficult to feel other than pissed off.  
He had spent calm holidays: just with his family, in the countryside, visiting some friends and teaching his daughter to swim. Cassandra and he were fine. They were quite good, actually. But deep inside he knew something was off. He wasn’t stupid: love cannot be erased overnight and he knew that. That’s the reason why he was worried about seeing Emily again: seeing her would mean problems, of that he was sure. 

He walked into his trailer half an hour before the time agreed. He wanted to concentrate on the long path they had ahead and talk to the director and producers first.  
He was nervous. He could see Emily any time and he didn’t know what to do or say. They agreed to be friends the last day of work, yes, but he was hopeful she hadn’t forgotten him. It was selfish, but that’s what he felt like.  
“Hey, I heard what you’re doing for charity”, Marc told him. He was talking about his ‘fuck cancer’ campaign. “It is simply great”.  
Stephen smiled with pride. “Thank you. I just felt like I could do so much more, you know. But I still have to decide some details and launch it on the Internet”.  
Marc nodded. “We all should do things like that”.  
“Things like what?”, they heard on their backs. He knew whose voice was that before turning around. It was hers. It was Emily’s. He had dreamt of that moment so much and now there it was: her smile.  
“Miss Rickards!”, Marc joked. “So good to see you again!”  
They kissed each other cheeks and then she looked at Stephen. They stood there, just gazing each other, until she approached him and hugged him slowly.  
It lasted less that he’d have liked.  
“How are you, Stephen?”, she asked with a smile on her face.  
“Not bad. You? You look great”, he told her smiling at her.  
She looked down, embarrassed. “Yeah, well, you could say I’ve had the summer of my life”.  
Stephen smiled. “I’m glad to hear that”.  
Emily checked her watch. “Well, I’d better go now. I want to see the others before we start shooting”.  
He nodded. “Yeah, sure. See you later?”  
She laughed. “Yeah. We have a date”, she replied winking at him.  
She was talking about the script for Arrow 3x01, where Oliver and Felicity went on a date, but he couldn’t help being nervous about it. Not because of the date itself, but rather because their characters had to kiss in that episode. And to his surprise, she seemed very calm and nonchalant. She seemed fresh and happy. She seemed… over him, and that idea hurt him so, so much. 

***  
“Is that an angel? Is it a goddess? A queen? No! It’s Emily Bett Rickards!”.  
It was Willa and her particular way of saying hi to her. They both hugged with tender.  
“Oh, baby, I missed you!”, Emily said squeezing her tight.  
Willa kissed her cheek. “Me too. So tell me, how’s everything going?”  
They were in Emily’s trailer. “Good. You know I never stop”.  
Willa smiled and scrutinized her look. “Yeah, true.”  
Emily knew what was coming. She could feel it. “What?”  
Willa turned serious. “You still… love him?”  
Emily sighed. “No, I don’t”.  
Willa smiled. “Excellent. It would have only brought you pain”.  
“Yeah…”, Emily agreed.  
“Well, I gotta go. I want to practice my first scene once more. See you later, cutie!”, Willa told her leaving the trailer.  
Emily sat on the chair and sighed again. What was she doing? She could not lie. She still loved him. And seeing him today had shaken her. How could she forget his smile and those hypnotizing blue eyes? But she had to pretend everything was ok, because she had no other options. And so, she would act like nothing’s wrong, like she’s the happiest girl in the world and like it’s not a big deal to kiss him in that episode. After all, they were just friends, right? 

*** 

_Meet u at 5_  
It was a text message from Emily’s friend Fanta. They would go to have some drinks after work. She was on a break with Stephen, Brandon and David. It was Brandon’s first day, so they wanted him to feel comfortable.  
“If you want to really rest, you should go to David’s trailer”, Stephen started. “He has the best sofa ever”.  
They all laughed. “Yeah, and that’s why he’s always late: he falls asleep!”, Emily joked.  
“Hey, you’re talking to Mr. Diggle, what were you expecting?”, David replied, making everyone laugh again.  
“And if you want a good coffee, ask Emily. I don’t know how she does it, but she’s the only one who gets a good coffee from the canteen”, Stephen said. “I think you won that boy’s heart”.  
Emily pretended to be offended. “It’s just my innate charisma”.  
“Ok, I get it, so David and Emily are my new besties, right?”, Brandon said and they started to laugh.  
“Oh, by the way, I have two tickets for the theatre, but I can’t go, so if you wanna go…”, David said taking out the tickets.  
“When is it?”, Emily asked.  
“Tomorrow night”.  
Brandon shook his head. “Then I can’t, sorry”.  
“And you guys?”, Davd asked Stephen and Emily.  
They looked at each other, not sure of what to say.  
“Well… I’m free…”, Emily said.  
Stephen hesitated, but he couldn’t help it. “Yeah, me too”.  
David nodded. “You go, then. Here you have”, he replied handing the tickets to Stephen.  
Emily got nervous. “So, ehm… I need to go to the toilet. Talk to you later about the tickets, ok?”  
Stephen nodded and smiled slightly.  
As soon as she could, she ran away from them. Gosh, she couldn’t even speak to him without looking stupid, how was she gonna be with him for a whole play?  
Once they finished work, Emily went out with Fanta. They went to a new pub near Emily’s house. There weren’t many people, so they could talk.  
“Em, it’s easy: if you don’t want to go to the theatre with him, then don’t”, her friend said with a firm voice.  
Emily sighed. “But he will think I don’t want to go with him”, Emily replied.  
Fanta raised her brow. “But that’s the point, Em! You don’t want to!”  
Emily rested her head on her hands. “Yeah, but…”, she started.  
“But?”  
She shook her head. “I don’t know”.  
Fanta nodded. “Well, I know. You don’t wanna go with him, but you don’t want him to know that because, after all, you’re still madly in love with him and you don’t want him to think bad of you”.  
Emily looked at her in surprise. Of course she knew that already, but hearing someone say it out loud was a different thing.  
“You’re right”, she admitted.  
Fanta raised her glass. “Cheers?”  
Emily smiled. “Cheers”.  
These chats with Fanta always helped her make her mind. And now she knew what she was going to do. 

***  
Next day, at midday, Stephen was reading through his script, reviewing one of his scenes.  
“Hey there!”, he heard. He raised his look to see Willa standing right next to him.  
“Hello stranger”, he said back, placing apart the script. “I barely see you now”.  
“I’m training”.  
Hi grinned. “Let me see your bicep”.  
She rolled up her sleeve and tensed her muscle. Stephen touched it.  
“Wow, impressive!”, he congratulated her. She smiled.  
“It is, isn’t it? I’ve been working out so hard…”, she explained.  
“Yeah, I can see. My bicep looks ridiculous in comparison to yours…”, he said showing his muscle to her, obviously bigger. She rolled her eyes and laughed.  
“Oh, fuck you, show off!”  
She stood up ready to leave and he laughed.  
“Does it have a name? Your little biceps, I mean”, he kept on joking.  
Willa turned around and looked at him, with a grin on her face. “Oh, yes. It’s called Amellidiot”.  
He smiled. “Good name”.  
She shook her head thinking he was impossible. Then, she remembered something: “Oh, by the way, I’m not gonna be able to make it tonight”.  
Stephen was now lost, so he frowned his brow. “Tonight?”  
She nodded firmly. “Yeah, the theatre. Emily told me she couldn’t go, so I accepted instead. You knew that, right?”  
No, he didn’t. He recovered himself quickly. “Oh, yes, sure. Why can’t you go?”  
“It turns out my boyfriend has a really important work dinner and he needs me there, so… I’m sorry”.  
He tried to smile. “Don’t worry. Next time, ok?”  
“Of course! Well, see you later, little brother”.  
He winked at her. “Bye, Willa. Bye Amellidiot”.  
She left laughing. But he didn’t want to laugh. What was going on with Emily? First, she was almost obliged to go to the theatre, as if she couldn’t do 2 plus 2, and now she secretly asked Thea to go with him. Was it true that she couldn’t go or was she trying to get rid of him?  
 _Pick you up at 6 tonight?_  
He texted her. Her answer couldn’t be faster.  
 _I’d rather meet you there at 6.30pm_  
If she wasn’t coming, why was she still pretending she was? He needed to know. He needed answers. But he’ll do it his way.  
 _Perfect, then_ , he replied.  
During the rest of the day, she avoided him. Literally. They only talked for their scenes and that’s all. But he acted like everything was normal because he wanted her to think so. 

When they finished working, Emily said goodbye and went home, not before telling Stephen a ‘see you later’ that nobody else heard. Fanta came to her house to watch a film together and eat some fast food. She needed it. The film had just started when the doorbell rang.  
Emily sighed. “Oh, gosh…”. She went to open the door but, instead of opening it directly, she looked through the peephole. It was Stephen.  
“Oh, no…”, she whispered, freaking out.  
Fanta worried. “What’s wrong?”  
“It’s him”, she said with a really low voice.  
Fanta covered her mouth with her hands.  
“Emily, I know you’re in there, I can hear you”.  
She closed her eyes, visibly pissed off. Then, she opened the door just to find him with his hand resting on the wall.  
He frowned and checked his watch. “I think you’re gonna be late, don’t you? It’s 6.40 and you’re still on your pyjamas”.  
She looked down. “I am not going…”, she murmured.  
“Oh, really? Yeah, well… Good thing that Willa screwed it up and told me she couldn’t come tonight, isn’t it?Otherwise I’d be there all by myself waiting for someone who wouldn’t have shown up”  
He looked mad, very, very mad. And truth was she understood him. She looked at Fanta and made a gesture as if telling her to leave.  
She grabbed her things and headed to the door.  
“Good luck”, she whispered to Emily. “Hey…”, she said to Stephen when she went out. “Don’t be too harsh on her…”  
Stephen only looked down.  
“Do you want to come in?”  
He didn’t say anything: he just went inside. He took off his coat and put it on a chair. She leaned on the wall with her hands behind as he rested on the table in her living room.  
“Why?”, he suddenly asked, taking her by surprise.  
She swallowed hard. “I couldn’t go”.  
“Because you had to watch a film with Fanta?”, he asked indignant.  
She felt embarrassed. “What do you want me to say, Stephen?”  
He raised his hands, as if everything was so obvious. “The truth, Emily”.  
She sighed, looking down. “I didn’t want to go with you”.  
“I’ve noticed that”, he replied with a sassy tone. “Why?”  
She looked around, looking for help.  
“Because… I didn’t, ok? Not everyone is dying to be with you alone, you know?”, she said. She knew it was rude and rough, but sometimes you react that way as a self-defense mechanism.  
Stephen looked shocked. “What the hell are you talking about?”, this time he sounded way too mad. “I don’t know what’s happening with you. Don’t you think I’ve noticed how you ignore me? We’re friends, I just wanted to use David’s tickets to have a fun evening and try to reconnect with you. Because I loved our friendship. That’s all. But I am sorry if I am not worthy of your time”, he answered, taking his coat and heading towards the door.  
Emily moved quick enough to stop him before he reached the door.  
“Wait…”, she said grabbing his arm. He was giving her his back, but they were very close. “I don’t ignore you”.  
“So not talking to me at all except for the scenes is not ignoring me?”  
She sighed. “I just didn’t want everything to be the same”.  
Then, Stephen turned to face her, confusion all over his face.  
“What do you mean?”  
She couldn’t escape his eyes now.  
“The last time we talked about us, we agreed we’d be friends. We’ve spent two months apart, and everyone was expecting us to have forgotten each other, but… I haven’t. And I don’t want to be the stupid girl who has a crush on her co-star who has no feelings for her anymore. I don’t wanna be tense in every scene that implies physical contact. I…”, she stopped to take a breath. “I was ignoring you because forgetting you is easier that way”.  
He remained silent. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t, and the doorbell didn’t help at all.  
Emily opened the door: it was Fanta again.  
“Oh, sorry, I thought you would have already finished your talk”, she apologized.  
“Don’t worry, he was leaving anyway”, Emily said looking at Stephen, who got the hint and left, not without gazing at her once more.  
Emily closed the door sat on the floor. Fanta did the same next to her.  
“Em, what happened?”  
Emily closed her eyes and sinked her head in her legs.  
“I told him I still love him and he said nothing”, she confessed.  
Fanta opened her mouth in surprise. “Maybe I got in the wrong time…”  
Emily shook her head. “He had been silent for a while before you came, so…”  
Fanta put an arm around Emily. “I’m sorry, baby…”  
“Me too”.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there!!
> 
> I have a few things to say:  
> 1-Thank you so much for your incredible welcoming! I have received so many comments that I couldn't be happier! In fact, this is the reason why I've updated the fic today. I know it's short, but I wanted to give you a little something because of your huge support and, well, because it's Christmas :) 
> 
> 2-I'd like to warn you about something: in the previous part I respected reality a lot and I tries to be loyal to the facts. However, this time I am willing to go further and really make up the stories and the things that happen. I hope it is ok with you.
> 
> 3-I'm sorry again this is short, but I'm on holidays, so it's been imposible for me to come up with something better. 
> 
> 4-Someone asked me if this time there would be any smut. Well, let me tell you that... YES! There will be some :) 
> 
> So merry Christmas and enjoy!! :)

toc, toc   
“Come in!”, Willa said from the inside of her trailer.  
Stephen stepped inside and put some papers on a table.  
“What’s that?”, she asked.  
“The new version of a scene. Check it out.”  
Willa grinned. “Yes, daddy!”  
He smiled too. “Speaking of... I gotta go. I left Mavi alone in my trailer.”  
“Ok, see you later”.  
Stephen went to his trailer quite fast. He had left Mavi all by herself there. He knew nothing would happen because she was a very good girl and she was in her baby buggy, but still he was not at easy. However, when he approached his trailer, he heard someone talking: it was Emily. He opened the door a little bit just to see her kneeled down next to Mavi’s buggy, with her back to the door, talking to his daughter as if she could answer her.  
“What are you doing here all by yourself? Where is your dad?”, she asked her picking up one of her toys. “Well, maybe it’s better this way because just so you know, your dad is an idiot. Don’t you get a boyfriend until you are... 30 or so. Believe, men only bring you problems and pain. They’re assholes”, she continued.  
Then, Stephen made his presence noticed.  
“Yes, they are”, he claimed, surprising Emily, who looked at him shocked. “Especially your dad, Mavi. You should listen to Em, she’s usually right”.  
She was a bit embarrassed, but not intimidated.  
“Yeah, especially him”.  
Stephen closed the door and came closer, kneeling on the other side of Mavi’s buggy.  
“Can you believe that yesterday one of the most beautiful girls in the whole planet Earth told him she loved him and he said nothing?” Stephen said, shaking his head.  
Emily nodded. “When it comes to him, nothing surprises me anymore”.  
Stephen looked at Mavi. “You know what?”, then he lowered his voice and leaned his head towards his daughter. “Emily was the girl.”  
“And... why didn’t he say anything?”  
Stephen turned serious for the first time. “Fear, I guess”.  
Emiy rolled her eyes. “Fear? I don’t get it...”  
“You’re not a girl who has a cruch on her co-star who doesn’t love her anymore”.  
“Aren’t I?”, she asked, confused.  
He now fixed his gaze on her. “No. I wish I could tell you he forgot you. That he is over you. But he’s not”.  
Emily didn’t know what to say. “So...?”  
“So I love you. I mean, _he_ loves you”, he corrected himself with a grin on his face.  
She couldn’t help but smile. “Really?”  
Then, Stephen was behind Mavi and, using her hands and a baby voice, he said: “My dad is a jerk and he doesn’t deserve you, but he loves you”.  
Emily laughed, but very quickly she adopted a very pale face.  
“Well, it doesn’t matter. Your situation is the same as two months ago”, she replied while playing with one of Mavi’s toys, referring to his wife and his daughter.  
“You’re wrong. Everything is different now”  
She looked up, surprised. “What makes it different?”  
“This time everything will be different because this time I am willing to fight for you”.  
Emily’s mouth dropped. “What... what do you mean?”  
He took a deep breath and kissed Mavi’s forehead. “I mean that this little girl may be the most important person in my life, but... right now, Cassandra is not even in the top three”.  
“Am I?”, she asked afraid of the answer.  
He simply smiled. “Do you even have to ask?”  
She had to. She had been through a lot, so she didn’t know what to think anymore.  
“Yes, I do”.  
He looked directly at her. “It’s taken me some time, but I have understood that I need you in my life not only as a friend, but also as a lover. As my girl. As the woman I wanna spend the rest of my life with. So yes, you’re on my top three”, he explained.  
She smiled. It sounded so great…  
“I wish I could believe you, Stephen”.  
He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “I promise you I’ll do everything in my power so that you believe in me again”.  
She looked down. How much she wished it was true.  
Then, Stephen looked at her daughter. “Mavi, do you think this beautiful girl has any plans for tonight?”  
Emily grinned. “It depends. Any suggestions?”  
He nodded. “But I can’t tell you, you’ll have to trust blindly this time”.  
She sighed. “Is it something I will regret?”  
He tilted his head. “I honestly hope not”.  
“What can I say, right Mavi? Ok, I’ll go”.  
Stephen smiled. “I’ll pick you up at 8. And by the way, you’d better wear comfortable clothes”.  
She stood and kissed Mavi’s forehead. “Your dad is crazy. The sooner you get it, the better”, she said walking towards the door.  
“Em”, he called her, making her turn to him. “You are the purest human being in the whole world: the sooner you get it, the better”.  
She got red in embarrassment. “Well, lucky me you know it”, and then, she left.  
Stephen sat on the floor, still thinking of her and her pretty eyes.  
“Mavi, Emily will be the death of me…”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! 
> 
> As promised, here you have a new chapter.   
> I really hope you like it :) :) 
> 
> Thank you so much for the huge support your showing to me. It means a lot ^^ 
> 
> Looking forward for your comments and talk about the chapter together :D 
> 
> Best, 
> 
> -S

Life never ceases to surprise you. You cannot be certain of anything. One day you are miserable thinking the man you love doesn’t love you back and next day you have a date with him. At least that’s what Emily thought. She was in her house with Fanta and Colton, making up her mind on what to wear.   
“Honey, He told you to wear something comfortable, I think that’s easy”, Fanta said rolling her eyes.   
“Yes, but I wanna be comfortable and sexy at the same time”, the blonde answered.   
Colton shook his head. “That’s not possible”.   
She laughed. “I’m serious!”  
Fanta took out a pair of leggings and a hoodie and handed them to Emily. “This. The leggings will highlight you beautiful ass and the hoodie will give you a sense of ‘I’m-a-girl-who-doesn’t-need-a-dress-to-feel-pretty’”, she said.   
Emily smiled. “You’re a genius”.   
She took the clothes and headed to the bathroom, but she stopped half way. Colton tilted his head. “Now what?”  
She turned around with a worried face. “What if am I rushing into this?”  
Fanta sighed. “I mean… He looked once so in love with me and see what happened”.   
“Yeah, but that time he didn’t promise you anything”, Fanta started, grabbing her friend’s hand to convey security to her. “This time he is gonna fight for this relationship. He told you”.   
Emily seemed hesitant. “Yeah, but…”  
“Em, Stephen is a man of word and you know it”, Colton added.   
“You cannot live in fear. Go out with him, have fun and let’s see what happens”, Fanta concluded, and that was everything Emily needed to hear. Now she was still nervous, but determined to live that night. 

At five past eight, she got out and saw Stephen’s car parked. She got inside and kissed him on the cheek.   
“Excited?”, he asked.   
“Super excited! Where are we going?”  
He grinned. “Wait and see”, he replied, starting the car.   
Then, something hit her. “What does Cassandra think of this?”  
He remained quiet and she got angry. “Ah, sure, she doesn’t know you’re with me, right?”  
He swallowed hard. “I told her I’m out with Colton”.   
She buffed and crossed her arms, visibly pissed. Suddenly, he placed his hand of her thigh and, since her leggings were so thin, she skipped a beat at his touch.   
“Please, Em, let’s not argue tonight”, he begged her, and she couldn’t do other than smile. After almost two months of nothing, just one touch was enough to make it difficult for her to breathe.   
Finally, he parked the car and they headed to a place that said “Rainbowland”. She opened widely her eyes.   
“What is this, Stephen? A playground?”  
He laughed. “Let’s get inside”.   
She saw him taking out some keys to open the door. Why did he have those keys? What was that place? And why were they there?   
Once they got in, she realized they were in a kiddy park. The floor was covered by mats so that kids don’t get hurt if they fall. There were slides, swings, and a little zip-line that ended up in a colourful ball pond.   
“Oh my Goodness…”, she muttered totally impressed.   
He looked at her with a smile on his face. “Do you like it?”  
“Yeah! But why here?”  
He pointed out towards some tables. “Why don’t we have dinner over there and talk?”  
It was a table for children, so it was smaller than a normal one. At that moment, she saw two chairs: one of Winnie the Pooh and the other one of Aladdin.   
“Oh, please, I wanna use the Pooh’s one”, she said.   
He laughed. “Ok, go ahead. I didn’t know you like Winnie the Pooh”, he remarked.   
She served wine for both. “Well, I didn’t until I heard one of his quotes and I fell in love”.   
He was listening to her love-struck.   
“He was with that little pig and then Winnie asked him what day it was, and the pig replied ‘It is today’”, so Winnie answer: ‘Oh, that’s my favourite day’, and I thought that is so, so, so true and fantastic…”, she reflected and took a sip.   
“That’s a good line, indeed”, Stephen agreed.   
Then, she forgot about Winnie and pigs and she focused on what was important: the man in front of her.   
“This is nice”, she said. “Us, having dinner on a tiny table where my legs hardly fit, seated on a Winnie the Pooh’s chair, with plastic plates and a glass of Hanna Montana”, she described their surroundings. “Quite romantic, yep”.   
He knew she was kidding, though it was the true.   
“I know it’s not the most romantic place in the world, but I wanted to do something different and surprise you”.   
She nodded. “And you did, actually. I was expecting this at all”.   
He smiled. “You look great”.   
She got red. “I’m just wearing a pair of leggings and a hoodie…”   
“Yes, but they suit you… really well”, he said, clearly referring to her silhouette.   
“Thank you”.   
They were eating pasta. Stephen hated eating pasta at night because they imply too much energy and you don’t burn it before going to bed, but it was everything he could do in the little time he had before picking her up.   
“Em, this morning I told you I was gonna fight for you”.  
She got scared. Had he changed his mind?  
“Yes…”, she barely whispered.   
“And I will, I mean it. I just need some time. I’ll have to talk to my family, and then Cassandra and then… the rest of the world. And that’s going to take some time”, he explained to her.   
“Well, I’ve been waiting for you all my life, I think I can wait a little bit more”, she replied, making him smile.   
“Thank you, Emily”.   
They kept on talking for a while: about Arrow, about Mavi, about Emily’s family… It didn’t matter. They could be like that forever. Then, they decided to get inside the kiddy park itself. They took off their shoes and stepped in. They went down on the slide and they played like little kids with the swings. Suddenly, Emily used the zip-line and landed in the middle of the ball pond. One second later, Stephen did the same, landing next to her. They were both laughing and enjoying themselves.   
“I love this, Stephen”, she murmured.   
He smiled. “I knew you’d like it”, he answered.   
Then, she came closer and kissed him. At first he stood still, surprised, but he kissed her back very quickly. They got apart, staring at each other, as if they needed the other’s confirmation that they wanted to do this. Given none of them separated any further, Stephen kissed her again, this time harder. She sat on top of him and her tongue begins to explore his mouth until both tongues meet. She placed her hands on his neck to deepen the kiss while he went through her back inside her hoodie with his hand. That was not enough for him, so he started to take her hoodie out, and she helped him raising her arms. Finally she is just with her bra. She leaned on and gave him little kisses on his neck, making him moan. Then, he put both hands around her waist and started to raise his hands until he reached her bra. He needed to set her breast free. He unbuttoned her bra, revealing a part of her he had never seen before. He stared at her breast delighted. She felt his hardness above her, which excited her even more. She started to struggle with his belt while he kept on admiring her body. Suddenly, he felt an incontrollable desire to touch her breast and, when he was just about to do it, he saw the door opening, which made him sink Emily under the balls so that she cannot be seen. It is a man with a brush. He was the man in charge of cleaning the plase.  
“Hi, sorry, am I interrupting?”, he asked with a grin.   
“No, we were just leaving. Could you give us 5 minutes?”, Stephen replied red with embarrassment.   
“Sure”, and he left.   
Then, Emily emerged from under the balls. “Ok, that was awkward.”  
He nodded. “Yeah…”  
Then, they looked at each other they laughed.   
“Ok, so… Let’s get out of here”, she said. “Have you seen my bra?”  
Stephen didn’t care about her bra. That man had entered in the worst moment ever.   
“I didn’t even graze them”, Stephen regretted. Emily he was still looking at her boobs, so she grinned. “Next time”, she answered. Fortunately, she found her bra. “Now let’s go before he comes again”, she told him putting on her hoodie and getting out of the park.   
It was almost midnight when he stopped the car in front of her house.   
“Do you wanna come in?”, she offered.  
“I can’t”.   
“We could finish what we started”, she said with a dirty smile.   
He shook his head sadly. “I’d love to, but I can’t. It’s too late”.   
She was a bit disappointed. “Okay, so… see you tomorrow”.   
She was gonna get out of the car when he grabbed her by her arm, forcing her to look at him and kissed her.   
“See you tomorrow”, he whispered in her ear.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!!! 
> 
> First of all, I'm sorry it's taking me so long to update the fic, but lately I'm quite busy, so sorry about that!
> 
> Here you have a little something, but I'll tell you something: expect the best for next chapter. San Diego Comic Con for the win :D :D 
> 
> Love u all! 
> 
> thanks for your support and patience :)

“Good morning, love”, Cassandra whispered caressing Stephen’s chest. He slowly opened his eyes and found his wife next to him, with a dirty smile, touching his body. He groaned unhappy and turned around, giving her his back.   
“Hey, wake up, Steph”, she insisted.   
He hid his head under the pillow.   
“Honey…”, she said putting her hand on his back.   
Suddenly, Stephen emerged from under the pillow visibly angry. “Cassandra, please, I’m trying to sleep”, he complained.   
She leaned on him. “Oh, come on… it’s almost time for you to go to work. 10 minutes earlier won’t kill you. In fact, you’ll leave more relaxed”, she hinted, kissing his cheek, though he had his eyes closed.   
“I’m not in the mood”.   
She stopped and looked at him with apathy.  
“Lately you’re never in the mood”, she murmured getting off the bed. Then, he opened his eyes and saw her getting dressed. She took out her pyjamas, revealing her body. Stephen focused on her, on her figure, her butt, her breast… And he realized he felt nothing. It’s that she wasn’t attractive; she was. But he didn’t see her that way anymore. He remembered last night, with Emily, that feeling growing inside of him. He wanted more. He wanted her. All of her, in that moment and forever. And, unfortunately, it’s was not like that with Cassandra. He couldn’t hide it any longer. 

****   
Later that day, Emily was sitting on the stairs of her trailer, just outside, reading through her script when someone covered her eyes. She touched those hands with her own and smiled.   
“Stephen…”, she sang.   
He laughed and released her, taking a seat next to her.   
“How are you today?”, he asked her, giving her one Starbucks coffee.   
She looked surprised. “For me?”   
He nodded. “All for you”.   
She smiled fondly. “Well, my day has improved a lot now…”.   
“Because I’m here?”, he said with a grin.   
“Definitely. The coffee helps too, though”, she replied drinking her coffee.   
He was staring at her, enjoying that simple moment.   
“Ehm… do I have something in my face?”, Emily asked him.  
“No”.  
She frowned. “Then why are you staring at me like that?”  
“It’s just…”, he sighed. “You’re so beautiful…”  
And she felt like that because the way he looked at her made feel so. He looked at her with pride, admiration and, the most important, love. Thus, she couldn’t help it and she kissed his cheek, just like Cassandra had done that morning. The only difference is that Stephen felt alive by Emily’s touch and with Cassandra it was like… nothing.   
“Ups, sorry”, she apologized. “We shouldn’t do this here”.   
He sighed. “I’m tired, Emily”.   
She tilted her head. “Tired of what?”  
He shrugged. “Tired of hiding to be with you. Tired of keeping all my feelings for you. Tired of not being able to kiss you all of a sudden and in the middle of the set or the city”.   
She was moved by his speech.   
“Well, then you know what to do”, she sentenced with determination  
He nodded. “Yes…” 

Two hours later, Emily was with Colton and Willa in Willa’s trailer having a break. In two days they would be going to the San Diego Comic Con, as well as the rest of the cast. Willa had been talking about her sister, who was getting married, when Emily did a big announcement.   
“Guys, I have something to tell you…”, she started.   
“Tell me you’re not pregnant”, Willa said with her eyes widely opened.   
“Of course not!”  
“And you’re not dying, right?”, Colton asked.   
Emily rolled her eyes. “No, I’m perfectly fine”.   
They looked at each other and took a deep breath.   
“Good, so…?”, Willa prompted.   
Emily smiled. “Colton knows something, but well, the thing is I went on a date with Stephen last night and it was great. In fact… we’re kind of together”.   
Colton grinned. “I knew it… you didn’t answer my texts, so I thought: this is good news”.   
Willa hugged her immediately. “Oh my goodness! But what’s going to happen with Cassandra?”  
Emily sighed. “He’ll talk to her eventually”.   
Colton messed her hair with his hand. “You finally got it, bitch…”, he said with a big smile and she laughed.   
“And now you have the San Diego Comic Con to get more intimate”, Willa said taking Emily by surprise.   
“True…”, she agreed, but the truth was she hadn’t thought about it. Would they share a room? Would they sleep in different rooms? Would they go out alone? Would they behave as usual? She had so many questions... But they would be answered very soon. 

The Comic Con arrived. However, Emily couldn’t go the first day because she had some meetings in Vancouver. In fact, neither Katie nor Caity could, so the three of them flew together to San Diego that night: next day they all had more panels and interviews. Emily hadn’t talked to Stephen since he arrived there, so she had no idea what would happen. They three were in the reception of the hotel where all the cast was staying when Stephen himself showed up.   
He smiled. “Such beautiful girls…”   
“How is it going?”, Katie asked him.   
He sighed. “Good. As usual…”  
“How many rooms would you like?”, the receptionist interrupted.   
They looked at each other.   
“One for the three of us, I guess”, Caity said.   
“Nope, Willa took a room for her and Emily”, Stephen rushed to say.   
Emily smiled, though not for the reasons her friends thought.   
“So sweet of Willa…”, she murmured, staring at him.   
“Good then”, Katie said.   
Stephen grabbed Emily by her arm. “Do you mind if I steal Emily for a second?”  
The two others shook their heads. “All yours”, Caity replied.   
They went to the lift and they waited until the doors closed behind them to get closer.   
She dropped her luggage and placed her hands around his neck while he enclosed her in his arms and kissed her.   
“I’ve missed you today”, he said next to her ear.   
“Me too…”, she answered and kissed him slowly. “So, where are we going?”  
“To our room”.   
She froze. She knew what he said about Willa was a lie, but that was one thing and actually sharing a room with him was a different thing. However, she smiled. Somehow she had fallen in love with that sentence.   
“What’s that smile for?”, he asked amused.   
“Our room… I love how it sounds”, she said and the elevator doors started to open. She got apart from him and prepared herself to leave the lift, when he took her hand and pushed her towards him, kissing her. The doors were already opened, but he didn’t care at that moment.   
“God, guys, control yourselves!”they heard.   
They turned around: it was Willa.   
She grinned. “It was him”, she said pointing at Stephen.   
“True, it was my fault”.   
Willa shook his head. “You’re like kids…”   
They got out of the lift and she got inside.   
“By the way, If someone asks you, I’m sleeping with you, ok?”, Emily told her.   
Willa rolled her eyes. “Sure, lovebirds”.   
They laughed and went to their room: 303.   
It was very tidy and ordered, there was just one of Stephen’s t-shirts on a chair and his pyjamas on the bed.   
Emily let herself fall on the bed, tired of the flight.   
Stephen sat next to her.   
“By the way, you are still married, you cannot kiss me like that whenever you want, anyone could have seen us”, Emily told him off.   
Stephen sighed. “I know. It was a stupid thing to do, but I couldn’t help myself”.   
She sat up and hit him softly on his forehead. “Hey, don’t you ever say again that kissing me is stupid”.   
He smiled. “Will you forgive me if I give you… let’s say 50 kisses?”  
Emily grinned. “That’s definitely a good start…”, she murmured while he kissed her.   
They had two days ahead and she was sure they would be great. After all, she deserved a little bit of happiness.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello trashers! 
> 
> Hope you're doing fine. I just felt inspired today and since I had time I decided to write a new chapter. I really hope you like it :) 
> 
> Please, I want to remind you that this is fiction, so I intend no harm and I respect everyone. So please, if you feel offended with this fic, just don't read it. 
> 
> Again, thank you so much for your support and I'm looking forward to reading your comments and thought on the fic ^^ 
> 
> Don't give up on trash :D :D

We spend our lives thinking of the future and trying to get things that will make us happy. However, this is not the answer. Happiness, life, is here and now. The future shouldn’t matter because it is not 100% likely to happen. The only thing we have is us in this very moment. And, to Emily, that was exactly what was happening that weekend. She had no idea what would come after it, but there was just one thing on her mind at that moment: being happy with Stephen. And nothing would stop her.   
That night, they were so tired that they fell asleep really fast. Next day, they had to get ready for the WB panel.   
“Wake up, Em”, he whispered in her ear.   
She slowly opened her eyes and smiled at the sight of Stephen next to her.   
“What time is it?”, she asked, still tired.   
“7 o’clock”, he replied.   
Emily puffed. “Oh my goodness… Getting up at this time or even earlier should be banned”.   
He laughed. “I wish”.   
She eventually sat up and kissed him briefly. “I have to go get ready for the panel. You know, make up, hair, clothes…”   
Stephen frowned. “Where?”  
“Willa’s room”, and then she added with a smirk “I mean, _my_ room”.   
He grinned. “Right, your room”.   
Emily smiled and showed signs of being about to get up, so Stephen grabbed her by her waist and brought her closer to him.   
“Hey…”, she complained laughing, but she couldn’t say anything else: his lips were on hers.   
“Stephen, I gotta go, Willa called her friend to come over and make us look pretty for the panel. I don’t wanna be late”.  
He kissed her again, this time on her neck.   
“Please, don’t make this any more difficult than it already is for me to leave this bed”.   
He smiled and kissed her sweetly. “Go”, he told her.   
She got up, dressed up and ran towards Willa’s room, who was already waiting for her.   
“Katie and Caity are almost here before you. Em, I cannot live this stressed, you know…”, Willa told her off.   
“Sorry, my bad”, she offered her apologies.   
And just like that, the Arrow girls spend two beautiful hours getting ready for the panel.   
(here’s the link if you want to remember their looks: http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Stephen+Amell/Warner+Bros+Comic+Con+International+2014/lXs46Jab67Q)   
They four went to the panel together, so it had been a few hours since Emily saw Stephen. When they met the boys, they all complimented them, and Stephen was shocked by how beautiful Emily was. She noticed how he looked at her and so she blushed. They went to the photocall, so to speak, and they had to pose for the photographers to take a picture.   
Stephen took Emily’s hand secretly so that she would appear next to him in the photo.   
“You look awesome”, he murmured just for her to hear.   
“You’re biased”, she told him while still posing.   
He stared at her, which made her look at him. “No, I am not biased”, he sentenced totally serious.   
She smiled since the implication of that single sentence was that she was naturally and trylu beautiful, him feelings apart. “Look at the camera, we’re going to appear looking at each other in the photos”, she said, trying to keep it cool.   
“So what?”  
Then, Willa (who was next to Stephen) said in a low voice: “You two, stop it, please”.   
Willa wondered how many more times she would have to tell them off throughout the weekend.   
Once they were done with the pictures, they went to the panel. It was a team panel: The Flash, Gotham and Arrow casts. Emily had to sit behind Stephen, but that way she would be able to see him without being so obvious.   
There were some funny moments, for example when Emily was asked about Felicity’s love interests. Or, for instance, when Stephen was asked to take his shirt off and show his abs. At first he refused to do so. However, Willa said:   
“Okay, okay, let’s vote!”, and immediately all girls except for Katie raised their hands. Stephen looked at Emily out of the corner of his eyes: her hand was up too. Then, there were no doubts. He stood up and took his shirt off, which made the public shout, whistle and clap.   
Once the panel was over, they grabbed something to eat and very quickly individual interviews started. That was a bit more boring, but they had to do it anyway.   
At about 7, the Arrow cast and producers had a reservation at a restaurant for dinner. They arrived in small groups. Emily sat between Stephen and Colton, having David and Caity opposite her. Dinner went great, but they drank too much wine and its effects began to be noticed. They all talked about stupid things and at that point, even the worst jokes made them laugh. After dinner, some of them went to a party with Emily since her friend Carina MacKenzie invited them. It was a big pub with a good atmosphere. Willa, Carina, Caity and Emily were dancing like there was no tomorrow, while Colton, David and Stephen had some drinks and observed the girls.   
Stephen was aware that Carina knew about him and Emily, so he had an idea. He took advantage of a moment when she came to the bar to ask for a drink to approach her.   
“Hey, Carina, is there any place in this pub where Emily and I can have some intimacy?”, he asked her.   
She grinned. “Uh, Amell, what are you up to? Are you gonna corrupt my girl?”, she joked.   
He smiled and replied “sort of”.   
Carina talked to the bartender and then she wrote something on a napkin and gave it to Stephen.   
“Second floor, next to the toilets. Give this to the man on the door. His name is Jack”.   
Stephen smiled with gratitude. “Thank you, Carina”.   
Stephen went to the dance floor and came closer the girls. Willa was the first one to see him and tried to make him dance, but he hated it; he was really bad at it. Then, Emily saw him and decided to save him.   
“Hello, Mr Amell”, she shouted so that he could hear her despite the music.   
“Come with me”, he told her.   
She tilted her head. “Where?”  
He shrugged and smiled. “No idea, but we could make our particular Heaven out of it”.   
She was intrigued and she was looking forward to being with him, obviously, so she followed him. They went to the second floor, just where Carina had told him and there it was a young man.   
“Hey, Jack, Carina MacKenzie sends you this”, he said giving him the napkin. He had no idea what it said, but Jack let them get inside.   
“You have an hour”, he told them.   
They entered that room and heard Jack locked the door behind them.   
It was a small room with quite a big sofa, a minibar and weak light.   
Stephen took Emily`s hand and headed her towards the sofa. He sat down first and then she sat on top of him.   
“Only one hour?”, she complained while staring at his beautiful eyes.   
“Let’s make the most of it then”, Stephen answered.   
He came closer and stopped just before touch her lips. She felt his breath and little by little ended with that distance, posing her lips slowly on his. It was a sweet kiss, innocent and pure. She separated and licked his lips, which made him open his mouth a bit and that let her introduce her tongue inside. She looked for his tongue until both of them met. Then, they explored their mouths, trying to cover every single part of it. Suddenly, Emily got apart and stood. Stephen frowned: he couldn’t handle being that far from her.   
“Relax, babe”, she said.  
She was staring at him when he realized what she was doing. She started to unzip her dress, really, really slowly until it dropped to the floor. He was hypnotized. She continued with her bra: she took it off while dancing a little bit. At that point, she blushed slightly, but she went on. She took some steps and stopped right in front of him just to take off her panties. Stephen fixed his look on her vagina, and when he looked up, Emily was surprised to see so much desire in his eyes. He stood up suddenly, took her up and brought her to the wall. She entangled her legs around him as he kissed her passionately. Then, he forced her to stand on her feet. She wanted to place her arms around his neck, but instead he took both her hands and raised them up her head.   
“Leave them here”, he told her.   
So he started giving her little kisses. First on her mouth, nose, neck, jaw… and he spend some more time on her breasts. Last time he saw them, he couldn’t even touch them. Now, he massaged the left one while licking the other one. Emily moaned and tried to take her arms down since she felt weak by lust, but Stephen put them up again. When he was finished with her breasts and her nipples were hard, he continued to go down, kissing her stomach. After that, he opened a bit her legs and licked her thighs. She groaned and fell to her knees, unable to resist the feeling that conveyed. Stephen took her and kissed her in the mouth. He helped her stand up again and she took his shirt off, admiring his abs. He was kissing her when, all of a sudden, she felt something inside her: he introduced two fingers in her vagina. She startled, but his look reassured her. Stephen moved his fingers at a good pace, making her moan.   
Her breath was out of control and she felt herself go when she reached the climax. She looked for his mouth and kissed him. He led her then to the sofa and let himself fall on it. She was now on top of him, placing her legs around Stephen’s waist, being able to be even closer to him. This time she wanted to do something for him. She leaned down and kissed him softly in the corners of his mouth, then she moved to his chest. Without second thoughts, she introduced her hand inside his trousers and boxers. He was hard, very hard, and the touch of her hand only made it worse.   
“Emily…”, he whispered.   
She unzipped his trousers and, with his help, took them off. Once done, she did the same with his boxers. His penis was completely erected. She noticed he wanted to turn the tables and be on top of her.   
“No”, she said. She wanted to dominate the moment. She felt powerful. She kissed him fiercely and then she said: “Do you have a condom?”   
He nodded and pointed at his trousers. “my wallet”.   
She looked at the floor and took his wallet from one of the pockets. She found three condoms inside. “You, bad boy…”, she murmured with a grin.   
She opened one of them and put it on his penis. Then, she readjusted her position and, very slowly, she began to let his member get inside her. When she felt comfortable, she started to moved up and down, with a constant rhythm. Stephen, at the same time, captured her breasts and played with them.   
Emily intensified the pace and he moaned.   
“I’m… almost… there”, he said out of breathe.  
“I know… me too”, she replied.   
Then they felt it, the climax, the maximum union between two people in love. And she fell on him, trying to catch her breath.   
“Emily…”, he murmured, making her look at him. “I love you”.   
She smiled. His eyes were sparkling and full of sincerity. “I love you too”.   
They remained like that for a while, until they heard some knocks on the door.   
“It must be Jack”, he said. They got dressed and got out.   
“Thank you, Jack”.   
“No worries, Sir”.   
They came back to the dance floor and spotted Carina very quickly. She seemed to be looking for someone.   
“Hey, guys, you’re finally here!”, she said.   
“Where are the others?”, Emily asked.   
“They already left. That’s why I think you should leave, too. They’ve been looking for you.”  
Emily was a bit nervous.   
“Okay, let’s go then”.   
However, when they came out, they saw a bunch of paparazzi.   
“Shit”, Stephen said.   
Carina took control of the situation. “Stephen, you go first, I’ll be with Emily”.   
He nodded. Finally they all got out. Stephen had to sign some autographs and take some pictures with fans and after what seemed like ages, they arrived their hotel. They said bye to Carina and went to their room.   
“Ugh... tomorrow there will be photos of us leaving the pub together”, Emily said unpleasant, lying on the bed.   
“Yeah… it will cost me a fight with Cassandra, I’m sure”, he commented.   
Emily was silent. What could she say?  
“But…”, he added, “it’s totally worth it”.   
She smiled widely. “Yes. Today’s been amazing”.   
He nodded. Then, his phone vibrated. He checked it: it was Cassandra sending him a video of Mavi calling him. He showed it to her.   
Emily swallowed hard. “Do you regret this?”   
He looked at her and kissed her. “Never”.   
And that was everything she needed to hear. Life was great. What they were doing will bring problems, too many problems, but she was willing to face them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! 
> 
> Thank you for your Twitter and AO3 support, you make me very happy :) :) 
> 
> I just wanted to let you know that this chapter's been painful to write. I just hope you like it and please, let me know what you think, your theories, things you'd like to happen, etc... 
> 
> Cheers!!
> 
> P.S.-Don't give up #Trash

Every day when you wake up you have a new chance to start again and be the person you want to be. However, some days you know it is going to be a difficult day. So, so difficult that you won’t be able to be that person. 

Next morning, Emily’s phone rang and woke her up. It was a Fanta’s message: “What did you do, little bitch?”. Emily blinked twice and read it again. What was that about?   
_Wtf are u talking about?_ and Fanta’s answer came soon:   
_Twitter is on fire because you and Stephen left a party together. Anything to declare?_.   
Then, she ran towards her laptop and switched it on. She checked Twitter and realized her friend was right. “Holy shit…”, she murmured.   
Stephen woke up and saw her sat on the floor with her laptop on her knees.   
“Em, what are you doing?”  
She placed her right hand on her forehead, visibly worried.   
“We’re screwed, Stephen”, she said showing him the video of them leaving the party together.   
He sighed. “Well, let’s not rush into any conclusions. There’s nothing wrong about the video”.   
Emily laughed ironically. “Nothing wrong? Most of the cast goes to a pub and we left together? Only the two of us? It’s weird…”   
Stephen’s phone vibrated. Emily studied his face while checking it and she was sure: it meant problems.   
“What is it?”, she asked.   
Instead of replying, he handed her the phone. _Hope you had fun with her last night_  
It was Cassandra’s. Emily was annoyed and so was Stephen. They both wanted to come clear about their relationship, but they wanted to do things right: first Cassandra and then the rest of the world.   
“Look, we cannot do anything at the moment, so let’s get ready for today and we’ll deal with it tomorrow”, Stephen suggested.   
However Stephen knew that was a lie: he would take a flight back home that night, so he would have to face Cassandra sooner. But, as they say, one thing at a time. Right now he could still enjoy Emily’s company, and so he’ll do.   
They had different interviews and they were tired from last night, but they did their best and showed a smile all the time. At some point, Stephen found himself sitting next to Emily in a restaurant with David, Colton, Caity, Willa and Paul.   
David was talking about how a fan jumped towards him and almost made him fall to the ground. Then, Colton and Paul joked about it for a while and the rest laughed at him.   
Emily was putting some water in her glass when something made her jumped a bit and dropped some water on the table.   
“You okay?” Caity asked her frowning.   
“Yes, yeah”, she replied. But she wasn’t: Stephen had placed his hand between her thighs.   
She was wearing a one-piece black suit, so there was no danger, but still he tried to made her feel nervous by caressing the inside of her legs, very close to her intimate zone.   
“I need to go to the toilet”, Emily said standing up, escaping from Stephen’s heaven.   
She spent there more time than what is considered normal and just when she was about to go out, she saw Willa step inside.   
“Everything okay?”  
She nodded. “It’s just… “, but she didn’t find the correct words to say.   
“Ok, it’s something Stephen-related, I get it”, Willa replied getting back to the others. Emily laughed to herself and came back too. Nevertheless, give she wished she wouldn’t have come back.   
“By the way, where were you last night? We lost you!”, Caity said looking at Emily and Stephen. Emily almost choked with water and prayed Stephen had something to say.   
“What do you mean?”,he asked, trying to buy some more time to come up with an answer.   
David tilted his head. “We were all there and all of a sudden you went towards Emily and all we know after that is that half an hour later we were leaving the pub except for you two”.   
“Well, I just saw an old friend who wanted to meet Emily”, Stephen said not too convincing.   
“So he’s the one I saw you with later on?”, Colton asked Emily. She knew he was lying, but he was doing it to save her ass. So she nodded.   
“Yeah, that was him”.   
Caity grinned. “And what were they doing specifically?”  
Colton smiled. “Let’s just say that talking is the least they did”.   
_Colton is my guardian angel_ , Emily thought and pretended to blush.   
Stephen thought the storm was gone, but he was wrong.   
“But then”, Caity started to say, “if Emily was so busy, what were you doing, Stephen? Because you left the party together, I’ve seen it everywhere on the Internet”.   
He tried to sound nonchalant. “I just had a couple of drinks, I didn’t want her to leave alone, you know”.   
Paul fueled the fire. “And what if she hadn’t left alone?”, and everyone laughed.   
Emily smiled. “Good thing I didn’t then”.   
That was so awkward…   
Fortunately, they forgot about it and went along with a different topic.   
When they were leaving the restaurant, Stephen got a call from his mum. At the beginning he stayed next to his partners, but as the conversation changed, he got apart.   
“Stephen, is there anything I should know?”, she asked.   
Stephen froze. It was his mum, he always told her the truth, he couldn’t lie to her.   
“What do you mean?”  
She sighed. “I’ve seen that video. You and Emily leaving together. And I’ve seen interviews from this weekend’s comic con and… well, I’ve seen everything since you met her. And now I’m asking you if you want to tell me something”.   
Stephen got paralyzed. Your mother wants to protect you, wants you to be happy and successful and live a wonderful life. Then, how can you tell her that you unhappy in your marriage and that you’re having an affair which is not really so, but a relationship-to-be?   
“Mum…”, he started, but he didn’t know how to go on.   
“Are you happy, Stephen?”  
He closed his eyes. “Yes”, he replied and then he added “But not with Cassandra”.   
That was it, there it was. Boom.   
“Have there been any problems?”, his mother worried about it.   
“No, it’s not that. I just… I don’t see her the way I did anymore”.   
His mum was silent for a while and then asked:   
“Do you like Emily?”  
Stephen sighed. “No. I **love** her”.   
“And you okay, Stephen?”  
And there it was: the question. Was he okay? Was he okay dumping his wife and destroying a marriage? Was he okay doing this to Mavi? Was he okay getting Emily into so much trouble?   
“I’m…”, he murmured, but the lump in his throat didn’t let him continue. He stopped in the middle of the street.   
Emily turned around and saw him fighting his tears. She wanted to go next to him and comfort him, but he made a gesture with his hand, telling her to go with the rest.   
He sat on a curb and started to cry, thanking his hat for covering his face so that no one could recognize him.   
“Stephen, have you thought about it well?”  
“Mum, this hasn’t started today or two weeks ago. I’ve been feeling this way for months. More than a year, actually”.   
He heard his mother take a breath. “But you didn’t do anything because of Mavi, right?”  
“Yes…”  
“Honey, I love you so much and all I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy. And if that means breaking up with Cassandra, I’ll always support you. But Stephen, you need to talk to her before it goes too far. Don’t hurt her more than what’s necessary”.   
Stephen wiped away his tears. She was right, as always. He calmed down and came back to the hotel. Emily was waiting for him in their room. She was with her laptop and he sat next to her on the bed, in silence.   
“You’re not going to ask?”, he said intrigued.   
“Ask what?”, she said without looking away from the screen.   
“If I am okay”.   
She then fixed her eyes on him and tilted her head. “Clearly, you’re not okay, so what’s the point in asking?”   
He nodded. He knew she was annoyed because he hadn’t let her help him when he was talking to his mum. So he got closer and put his arm around her shoulders.   
“I’m sorry, I needed some time alone”, he admitted.   
She looked at him worried. “You told your mum about us?”  
He nodded. “And what did she say?”  
He kissed her cheek. “She just wants me to be happy. And I am happy with you”.   
She smiled, but her smile faded away as he checked his watch. He had to catch a flight that night, so he needed to hurry up.   
“I’d better prepare to leave”, he said getting out of bed and grabbing his bag.   
She sighed. “I’ll miss you tonight”.   
He faced her and smiled sadly. “Me too. Em, this weekend had been pure magic”.   
She stood up and ended the distance between them. Then, she took his face between her hands and kissed him fiercely. “I love you, Stephen Amell”.   
He studied her face. He looked at her eyes, her nose, her lips… He wanted to memorize them.   
“I’m looking forward to the day when you can tell me that every night”.   
She smiled sincerely and kissed him again, but this time it was a sweet kiss.   
“Go get ready, your flight is in 3 hours.”   
He put his clothes and personal hygiene items in his bag, as well as some gifts from fans.   
Then, he made a call: there was a cab waiting for him to take him to the airport.   
Emily leaned over the door so that Stephen had to face her before leaving.   
“I’ll text you when I arrive home”, he told her, caressing her cheek.   
“Say hi to Mavi”, she said smiling.   
“I will”. And he leaned on her and kissed her forehead. “I love you”, he whispered in her ear, making her feel the happiest girl on earth.   
And she let him get out, even though she didn’t want to. 

Stephen’s flight was calm and he took advantage to sleep a bit. This weekend had been really tiring. He wanted to get home and rest, but it was not going to be like that.   
When he entered his house, Cassandra was having a shower so he went to Mavi’s room and spent that time admiring her, watching her sleep.   
“At least you’re happy to see someone”, he heard Cassandra behind him.   
He stood and turned to look at her. “Hi…”, he said.   
She laughed ironically. “You don’t even bother to deny you’re not glad to see me”, she added going to the living room, when Stephen followed her.   
“Cassandra…”, he tried to say, but she interrupted him.   
“Have you had fun this weekend? I’d say that given all the pictures and videos I’ve seen”.   
“Cassandra, please…”  
She was pacing from one side to the other of the room. “She must be really good in the bed, otherwise I don’t really see the point in having an affair with her”, she blurted out, and that was when he got pissed off.   
“She’s not an affair”, he said firmly.   
Cassandra puffed. “How dare you deny it?”   
Stephen shook his head. “I’m not denying it”.   
That shocked her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”  
He took a deep breath and said one of the most difficult things in his life. “It means that I don’t love you anymore”.   
Cassandra stopped pacing and looked at him. “Do you love her?”  
He nodded. “I do”.   
Then, Cassandra took her phone and made a call. “Hi, Italia, it’s me. No, I’m okay. I just wanted to ask you if Stephen could spend the night there. Don’t worry, he will explain to you everything. Ok, thanks.”   
She went to Mavi’s room and picked the same bag Stephen had just brought from the comic con with his things and threw it to him.   
“I don’t want you here”.   
He could have argued with her, he could have told her that it was his house too. But he got it: it wasn’t the time to do so. He had hurt her, and so he understood her being pissed. He left.   
He left wondering if this was the right thing to do. Wondering if it would really be worth it. Then he sent Emily a text letting her know he was safe and sound (though skipping everything related to Cassandra) and she answered: _Only you can wake me up and still make me happy. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow. Love you_  
It hit him: of course it would be worth it. Because he loved her.   
And so he replied _I love you to the moon and back_.


	7. Chapter 7

Sun woke Stephen up. He slowly opened his eyes and had to blink twice to realize where he was: his cousin´s house. What was he doing there? Oh, true. His wife had chased him out.   
“Coffee?”, he heard and saw a cup in front of his eyes. It was Italia who was offering him some coffe. Stephen smiled kindly to her and accepted the cup of coffee.   
“How did you sleep?”, she asked him having a seat next to him.   
Stephen had slept on a couch, but he couldn’t ask for anything else after showing up so late at night.   
“Not bad”.   
Italia nodded. “This sofa is great. I take some amazing naps here”, she said laughing and that made him smile, but this time with honesty.   
Then, Robbie came out. Italia sensed the arising hostility in the room and decided to leave the sofa and go to the fridge and pretend she was looking for something.   
Stephen was drinking his coffee when he noticed Robbie was staring at him, so he looked at his cousin. “I know what you’re-  
“Are you happy now?”, Robbie interrupted him. “Did you see what happens when you do not things the right way?”  
Stephen rolled his eyes. “I don’t really need you to tell me off right now”.  
Robbie crossed his arms. “I know, but I don’t care. I told you this would only bring you problems and still you’re here”.  
Stephen lost his mind. “And what do you want me to do, Robbie?” He started to shout. “What am I supposed to do? Being married to Cassandra my whole life without loving her? Being miserable for the rest of my life?”  
Italia approached them and made a sign to his fiancé, letting him know to calm down, but he ignored her.   
“You are supposed to be honest with the partner you chose to share your life with, that’s what you are supposed to do!”  
Italia came closer to him and placed her hand on his back as if trying to make him relax, but it didn’t work.   
“And you know what? You deserve this”.   
Stephen opened his eyes incredulously.   
“You totally deserve this”.   
Then, Stephen put the cup on the table, took his bag and left, showing his anger by a slam of the door.   
Italia looked at Robbie a bit angry. “You didn’t have to be that hard on him, don’t you think?”, she said leaving the room. And Robbie knew he had been out of the line, but he hated how sometimes it was difficult to say who was the youngest between Stephen and him. 

A bit later that morning, Emily was outside her trailer talking to Colton. They were planning a dinner at Fanta’s. They tried to meet once a week at least and catch up on each other’s lives.   
“I’ll bring some wine”, Colton told her.   
“I totally second that”, she answered half laughing.   
“By the way, is Carine coming?”  
Emily shrugged. “No idea, I haven’t talked to her. But she’s probably in the Caribbean with that freaking hot fella”, she said.   
Colton grinned. “No doubts!”  
They were laughing when Stephen came in.   
“Hey”, he said casually.   
Colton tapped his back. “How are you, Stephen?”  
“Been better, but fine. You?”  
Colton nodded. “Tired. This weekend’s been crazy”.   
“Indeed”, Stephen agreed. “Ehm… Emily, can I talk to you for a second?”  
“Sure”, she replied staring at Colton, who knew he had to leave them alone.   
“See you later, guys”, he said.   
Since it was a sunny day, Emily and Stephen sat on the stairs of her trailer, outside. Emily noticed something was wrong just by the look on Stephen’s face.   
“Is everything okay?”  
Stephen shook his head. “I slept on the sofa”.  
Emily opened her eyes widely. “She kicked you out of bed?”  
Stephen tilted his head and replied with a sigh: “she kicked me out of my house”.   
Emily covered her mouth with both hands. “Oh my God… so then where did you-  
“Robbie’s”, Stephen cut her.   
Emily couldn’t believe it.   
“So… she knows about us”, Emily concluded and he nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me this last night? You could have come to my place”.   
Stephen shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I don’t wanna make your life more complicated than it is already”.   
Emily took his hand on hers and came closer to him. “Stephen, don’t you get that your problems are my problems too? We are a couple, aren’t we? So this is what happens when you have a girlfriend: the sorrow is divided and the happiness is multiplied”, she told him with all her heart.   
Stephen looked at her and all he saw was love.   
“You’re right, but… I don’t want to ruin your life, Emily”.   
Emily caressed his cheek with her hand.   
“Stephen, I don’t want a perfect life with no problems if you’re not in it. And if being with you implies some problems, I don’t give a shit. Maybe this is bad, but I don’t wanna go to Heaven. If you’re going to Hell, I’ll burn with you”, she said almost crying and her sincerity and sensitivity touched Stephen, who hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear:  
“What did I do in this life to deserve you?”  
She smiled and joked: “I wonder than sometimes”.  
“Hey…”, he complained with a grin, pinching her nose.   
They stared at each other’s eyes.   
“What about dinner tonight?”  
Emily puffed. “I’m having dinner at Fanta’s tonight, I’m sorry”, she replied and he seemed disappointed. “But you can come”.   
Then, he smiled. “Can I?”  
She nodded with energy. “Of course!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> Sorri the chapter was too short, but tomorrow I'm travelling to my home country for a few days, so I wanted to give you something before going since otherwise, you'd have to wait until February. 
> 
> That said, did you notice where I got the title of the fanfic from?   
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWWfIt7Ne38   
> It's from one of Lea's songs. I just thought that line was way too perfect for Stemily. 
> 
> Also, I am so so so so happy for your reaction from last chapters. Thank you a lot!
> 
> Take care!! :) 
> 
> -S


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!
> 
> I need to thank you for your support, as always. really appreciate it :)   
> However, I've got some rude comments and since I think I've always talked to you with respect, I believe I deserve to be treated the same way. Me and my writing. It may not be the best, of that I'm sure, but I'm trying. If you don't like it, you are free to leave. I don't force anyone to read the fic or comment or anything.
> 
> So please, be respectful to me and my work. If you are afraid of a sad ending, then stop reading. Or keep on. Whatever you wish. But don't tell me this is lame or that I am playing with you because it is not and I am not. Reading is like life: you start a book/story with no clue on the end. It may be good or bad, it is something that you will only know if you keep on reading. And if you don't, I'm afraid you're going to miss many things. But of course, that's just my humble opinion. 
> 
> Sorry to those of you who always have nice words to me, but I felt like I needed to do this and say this. 
> 
> Thanks again and I hope you like the chapter :) 
> 
> -Sara

They looked casual: she was wearing a pair of jeans, her pink convers and a pink and black plaid shirt; he was wearing some dark jeans and a grey V-neck shirt. They looked great together; no one would know there’s such a big age difference. They were meant to be together.   
That night Stephen would be with Emily’s friends, it would be like a test. Because even though they already knew him, this time he was there as Emily’s boyfriend and that was a huge difference.   
Each one brought something: Carina brought some wine, Jordan a cake for dessert, Colton some canapés and Emily a meat pie. Thus, when Fanta welcomed them and saw Stephen had nothing, she raised her frown.   
“You really are a sponger, aren’t you?”, she said.   
Emily looked at him surprised. “I told you you had to bring something”.   
Stephen nodded grinning. “And I did bring something, just not something to eat”.   
Everyone stared at him totally confused.   
“It’s something special, you’ll see after dinner”, he explained and everyone seemed satisfied, at least for the moment.   
So Fanta had everything ready, the only thing that needed to be done was to put what they had brought in the table. At the beginning, they talked about small things: work, weather…   
But then, Carina changed the topic and Emily couldn’t feel any more quilty.   
“So Stephen, what is going to happen with your wife?”, she asked making an emphasis on the word ‘wife’, making sure he was aware that he still had a wife.   
Emily looked at her as if saying ‘shut up’ and everyone went silent.  
“What?”, Carina asked. “This is what everyone is thinking”.   
Stephen smiled a little. “It’s fine, she’s right”. He took a deep breath. “Right now I don’t sleep at home any longer, she’s kicked me out, and as soon as I can I’ll talk to her about the divorce”.   
The word ‘divorce’ made everyone freeze.   
“So this is serious man”, Fanta said.   
Stephen looked firm. “No doubt”.   
“And will Emily and you live together?”, Carina inquired.   
Stephen shrugged. “We haven’t talked about that, but why not?”  
Emily was visibly uncomfortable, so Colton tried to change the topic.  
“By the way, did you guys hear about that boy in India who-  
“And what is it like to be with such a young wild girl like Emily in bed?”, Fanta said, interrupting Colton and his feeble attempt to save Emily. “Can you keep her pace?”   
Emily went red.   
“You should ask Em”, Stephen simply replied.   
Everyone stared at her, looking for an answer.   
“I’ll just say that everybody should have a Stephen in their lives”, she said and all her friends laughed, including Stephen.   
The truth was that they had only been together once, but she hadn’t told anyone. However, that time had been so amazing she would never forget it and she was sure the best was yet to come.   
“By the way, guys, do you know people ship you as a couple?”, Fanta asked Emily and Stephen.   
Emily nodded. “Yeah, olicity…”  
Fanta grinned and shook her head. “No, no, you and Stephen! It’s called Stemily”.   
Emily had no idea. Stephen already knew it: he paid too much attention to the Internet, but he kept that to himself.   
“If only they knew they’re right…”, Stephen murmured.  
“That is so typical…”, Colton started. “It usually happens with co-stars. People forget they are not their characters”.   
“That’s true!”, Jordan agreed. “It annoys me a bit, you know…”  
Colton nodded. “For a while people thought Emily and I were together too”.   
Emily waved her hand. “Yeah, but that was even funny”, she added. “Emton”.   
“I love Emton”, Carine admitted and everyone laughed.   
Then, there was a brief silence and Jordan remembered something.   
“Well, Stephen, what did you bring?”  
He smiled, stood up and went to pick up what he had brought. When he put it out of a bag, everyone shouted: ‘Twister!!’   
(If you don’t know what twister is, check this out: http://www.mathematik.uni-bielefeld.de/~sillke/Twister/rules/ )   
They set the mat on the floor and took their shows off. Carina was the referee, so she was in charge of the spinner. The first two or three moves were easy, but soon it turned more complicated. Emily found herself over Stephen. Actually, their heads were some inches away and the position was not comfortable for neither of them.   
“Emily, careful, you cannot touch Stephen nor the mat”, Carina warned her.   
Emily was already tired, her arms and legs were shaking.   
“What If I fall now?”, she whispered for just Stephen to hear.   
“You’d lose and you’d make me lose too”, Stephen replied. Emily thought he was a bit serious, but right after that he added: “But I could kiss you and that would be great, because having you so close to me and not be able to touch you is so, so hard, you know…”  
Emily smiled. Suddenly, Colton fell and pushed Emily, who immediately fell over Stephen. Eventually, everyone was down on the mat, laughing and cursing over Colton.   
Stephen stared at Emily and kissed her nose. He was aware they were not alone, so he decided to just be sweet.   
They played once again but after that they left, it was already late and they had to work next day. Everyone praised Stephen for the game: they had had a really good time.   
When Stephen and Emily got in the car, she received a text.   
_You have our blessing. Stephen’s not a jerk anymore_. It was Fanta’s text. Emil smiled proudly. Her friends hated it when Stephen was such an asshole with her, but she was glad their opinion had changed. Stephen knew how to win people’s hearts.   
“Why so happy?”, he asked.   
“We have my friends’ approval”, she informed him.   
He chuckled. “How am I being living without it?”, he joked, and she laughed. Then she had an idea.   
“Hey… why don’t you stay at my place?”   
Stephen looked at her for a few seconds and then again to the road.   
“Really?”  
She nodded. “Yeah, I mean… why not? Besides, Robbie and you are not in good terms, so… it would be awkward to go to his house, I guess”, she told him a bit nervous.   
“Ok, cool”, he agreed.   
When they arrived Emily’s home, she went directly to the kitchen to drink a glass of water.   
Stephen, on the other hand, went to the bathroom to have a shower. Emily went to her room to take her shoes off when she heard the water from the shower. Stephen would be already inside. She had an idea.   
“Who’s there?”, Stephen asked amused when he heard Emily get inside the bathroom. She opened the shower’s door, forcing him to look at her.   
“I am”, she said, completely naked.   
Stephen’s mouth dropped. He had to remind himself to breathe.   
“Holy shit…”, he muttered and took her inside with him, closing the door behind him. He embraced her and kissed her, feeling her breast against his chest. Then, he separated a bit and he was sure he’d never forget that image: Emily totally naked, with her hair wet and drops falling down her boobs and belly. No make-up, just her. And that was hot as hell. He pushed her fiercely to the wall and kissed her, entangling his tongue with hers. She put her legs around his waist and he bit her lower lip with passion. He wanted her now, he couldn’t wait. He didn0t want to go slow, he was hard and he needed to be inside her. Stephen introduced his fingers inside Emily and he was glad to notice she was already wet. It was always easy with her. So he got ready, carried her legs with his hands and his member explored her inside. It wasn’t smooth or slow, rather the opposite. She moaned every time he got inside. They were looking into each other’s eyes. Her blush, her groans, her breaths… God, she was hot. Eventually, they reached the climax ad he rested his head on her forehead.   
“I could get used to this”, he murmured and she laughed out of breath. 

Next day, Emily woke up but Stephen was not there. Instead, she found a note:   
_Got to pick up Mavi very early. See you on set. Love you._

_P.S.- I fell in love with you again… you look like an angel when you sleep._

Emily smiled and wondered how it would go with Stephen and Cassandra. 

***   
Stephen arrived his house early that morning and found Cassandra already dressed. She had a casting for a small role and he had to take care of Mavi, which he didn’t mind at all.   
“Everything you may need is in that bag”, she told him pointing at one of Mavi’s bags, but he didn’t take it.   
Stephen frowned. “That’s it? You’re not going to say anything?”  
Cassandra faced him. “What do you want me to say?”  
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I lied to you. I am in love with another person. You should say something”.   
Cassandra got back to what she was doing, ignoring him. “I know, and believe me I am really mad. But she’s a baby. You’ll get tired of her and eventually we’ll work this out”.   
Stephen couldn’t believe what he had just heard. “What?”  
“You heard me. You’re just being silly. You will come back to your senses again”, she explained while putting everything she needed in her bag.   
He was angry, very angry. Why couldn’t she take Emily sinceriously?  
“I want the divorce”, he said firmly.   
Suddenly, Cassandra turned to look at him. “What?”  
“You heard me”, he replied, mirroring her.   
Then he took the bag and went to Mavi’s room to carry her. When he was about to leave he added: “I’ll let you know when to sign the divorce” and closed the door after him, leaving her all by herself in a house which was not her house, actually and with no one to talk to.


	9. Chapter 9

Bikram Choudhury once said _Never too old, never too bad, never too late, never too sick to start from scratch once again_. And right now, that is what Stephen was doing. Starting all over again. He was married, he had a little daughter and he was 33 years old, but none of these mattered when it came to live the life that he really wanted with the woman he loved. And there they were, Stephen and Emily in his trailer with Mavi. They were taking a rest from shooting.   
“Who am I?”, Emily asked Mavi covering her face with both hands. “Me!”, she sang revealing her face and making her laugh.   
She loved Mavi and it was obvious that she loved Emily too. And Stephen couldn’t be any happier for that.   
“I talked to Cassandra today”, he started.  
“Oh yeah? About what?”, she asked him, still playing with Mavi.   
“I told her I want to get divorced”, he told her, making her look at him really serious.   
“Oh my God… Really? And what did she say?”  
Stephen shook his head.   
“Nothing, I just left”.   
Emily gave Mavi a little teddy bear and went next to Stephen to embrace him.   
“Are you ok?”  
He shrugged. “I guess so, but… It feels like I am letting go a part of my life, a part of me”.   
Emily caressed his back. “Because you are, Stephen”.   
He stared at her, pressed his lips and then looked down. “I am scared. It’s like taking a leap into the void”, he admitted.   
Emily forced him to look at her.   
“It might be a leap into the void, but you don’t have to be afraid because I will be there to catch you”, she said with a sincere smile.   
Stephen’s heart skipped a beat. Was Emily even real? How could he be so lucky? He thanked her support the only way he knew: giving her a soft and sweet kiss.   
Mavi made a noisy and Stephen saw her looking at them.   
“Well, you’ll have to get used to this, Mavi”, he told her and she tilted her head, not understanding what he was saying, and both Emily and Stephen laughed. 

Later that day, Emily met her mother for lunch. She had wanted to tell her about Stephen for ages, but she hadn’t found the right moment. Of course her mother knew something was going on, after all mothers know best, but Emily wanted to confirm the evidence.   
“You know your brother, he’s always trying new things”, her mother said and Emily nodded.   
“Mum… I’ve got to tell you something”, Emily began. She was a bit awkward.  
Her mother noticed she was embarrassed and by the look on her face she knew what was all about.   
“Is it Stephen?”  
Emily looked at her in surprise. “How do you even know?”  
She smiled. “Some months ago you were madly in love with him and a love like that does not go away as simple as you think, darling. And you are so happy these days…”  
Emily smiled inside. Her mother was her mother, of course she knew. She knew her better than anyone else.   
“So tell me, what is going on exactly?”  
Emily took a deep breath and went ahead.   
“We’re together”.   
“Together how?”  
Emily couldn’t help a grin on her face.   
“We’re dating”.   
Her mother’s mouth dropped. “But he’s married”.   
“I know, but he already told her he wants to get divorced”.   
Emily saw her mum was shocked and worried.   
“Mum, he’s serious about this and so am I. So don’t worry, it will be ok”, she tried to calm her down.   
“I’m not worried about Stephen hurting you, Em, I’m worried about what the whole world can do to you”.  
Emily frowned. “What do you mean?”  
“When all of this goes out, it’s going to be a really blow-out. And people can be very mean and rude. And to their eyes, you’ll be the intruder, the one who’s broken a family. That’s what I0m worried about”.   
Emily swallowed hard. “Well… then I’ll have you by my side. And Stephen. And so many other people who know who I really am and actually love me”.   
Her mother smiled and hugged her fondly.   
“Sure, honey”, she said caressing her cheek. “And why don’t you invite him for dinner next weekend?”  
Emily’s eyes widened. “With the entire family, you mean?”  
“Yes. We already know him, but now he’s family, so it would be good to get to know him a bit more”.   
_now he’s family_ , the words echoed in Emily’s head. God, this was actually happening. She was with Stephen Amell.   
“Ok, yeah, I’ll tell him”.   
She didn’t know it yet, but that dinner would be really memorable. 

At the same time, in an office in Vancouver, Stephen was talking to Tom, his lawyer, about the divorce. Originally Tom had been Cassandra and Stephen’s lawyer for many years, but he was Stephen’s friend before that, so it was clear he would help him before her. Obviously, the crucial aspect in the divorce was custody.   
“In theory, because of your schedule and your work, it would be difficult for you to get the custody, but if I am not mistaken Cassandra is not working, so she has no incomes of her own and that could be a very good point to attack”, Tom explained going through his papers.   
Stephen looked down. Attack? This wasn’t war.   
“Yeah, well…”, he managed to answer.   
“And you’ve always been willing to take Mavi to work, comic cons or wherever, so…”, Tom went on. “Maybe the judge would oblige you to hire a nanny, but you would have the custody”.   
Stephen nodded, though so many thoughts were on his mind…   
Tom handed him some documents. “This is what Cassandra needs to sign. Until then there’s no point in talking about custody”.   
Stephen took them and observed them.   
“This is crazy, isn’t it?”, Stephen murmured.   
Tom sighed. “Well, as a lawyer I’d tell you that you have to do anything to get what you want. But as a friend I’d say that you should talk to Cassandra and do things right. After all, you share a baby, you’re going to be linked forever. And for that girl’s sake you’d better get on well”, Tom told him.   
And Stephen knew he was right. But he also knew Cassandra could be somehow complicated sometimes. He just hoped she wasn’t this time. 

That evening, Italia was making dinner when the doorbell rang. Robbie was changing his clothes to make himself comfortable, so she opened it.   
“Oh my goodness! Emily, how are you?”, Italia said giving her a huge hug.   
“I’m alive, and you?”, she replied with a smile.   
Italia laughed. “The same. But come inside”, she said inviting her to come in.   
In that moment, Robbie went to the living room and saw both girls talking.   
“Robbie, look who’s here”, Italia told him.   
Robbie came closer to them and kissed Emily’s cheek.   
“Is everything ok, Em?”, he asked a bit worried. Her being there was not very normal to be honest.   
Emily smiled politely. “Yes, everything’s great, but I wanted to talk to you”, she explained and then she added: “About Stephen”.   
Robbie nodded and made a gesture as if telling her to have a seat. The three of them sat down and looked at each other.   
“Stephen told me things are not good between you and… I just wanted to apologise for all the problems I’m causing. I know this is a very difficult situation and I wish everything was different and easier, but it isn’t”.   
Italia brought her a glass of water and kept on listening.   
“Robbie… I’d really appreciate it if you tried to understand Stephen. He’s going through a lot right now and I know how much he loves you. So I think it’d be great if he had you by his side. He really needs you”.   
Robbie felt Italia’s hand on his back.   
“Em, it’s not that I don’t like you. Rather the opposite, I think you’re such an amazing woman and I consider you my friend. And I know you would never hurt anyone intentionally. In fact, coming here to apologize yourself proves it”, he explained with delicacy. “But Stephen’s wrong…”  
Emily sighed. “Look, I know he did everything wrong. Things should have been done differently, better. But who hasn’t made a mistake some time?”  
When Emily left, Robbie was still on the sofa, looking down, trying to figure it out. Italia approached him and said: “Don’t you remember your own mistakes anymore?”  
Robbie knew immediately what she referred to. When Robbie and Italia met, he already had a girlfriend he had been dating for a year and a half. However, he fell in love with Italia. He didn’t know how or when or where, but he did. And before he could do anything about it, his girlfriend got him kissing Italia. He had made a mistake: he had fallen in love with another girl and he hadn’t known how to handle things. He had messed up completely. Months after that moment, his former girlfriend forgave him. Maybe it was time he did the same with Stephen.

 

That night, Emily met Stephen in a café before going home together. She surprised herself thinking how different everything was now. They spent almost all day together, like before but now they kissed and hugged and said beautiful things to each other. And she liked that.   
Stephen told her everything about his meeting with Tom, the lawyer. He was a bit overwhelmed.   
“Don’t worry, love, it’s going to be ok. Eventually.”, she encouraged him, massaging his shoulder and he smiled.   
“Yeah…”, he muttered.   
“By the way”, she said pouring some sugar in her coffee. “Mavi’s so cute! And so tall! It’s amazing!”  
Stephen laughed and nodded. “It is, actually. She’s bigger each day”.   
“Any thoughts on sending her to the nursery school?”  
He nodded again. “Yeah, Cassandra and I talked about a few weeks ago. She’ll probably start in some months”.   
“Good, that way it will be easier when she goes to school”, Emily pointed out.   
Stephen smiled: what a great mum she’d be one day.   
“Oh, uhm… speaking of family…I had lunch with my mum today”.   
He had a sip of coffee.   
“True, I forgot it, sorry. How is she?”  
“She’s good, great actually”.   
Stephen smiled. “Glad to hear that”.   
Emily hesitated. “I told her about us”.   
Stephen froze. “Really? And what did she say?”, he asked and grabbed his coffee to drink some more.   
“He wants you come over dinner next weekend”, she replied and Stephen nearly choked.   
“You don’t want to?”, She asked a bit annoyed.   
He shook his head. “It’s not that, it’s just that… it’s been ages since the last time I had to meet my girl’s family and… it’s scary”, he explained.   
“But you already know them”, she remarked.   
Stephen sighed. “Yes, but this time they’re going to analyse me. Now I’m your boyfriend”.  
And then, she remembered: now he was family.   
“So you’re coming?”, she asked with her puppy eyes.   
He chuckled. “Yeeees, I’m coming. But you know what this means, right?”  
She frowned. “What?”  
“My mum’ll be envy and she’ll want to meet you too…”  
Emily went pale. “Oh my god…”.   
Contrary to Stephen, who had met Emily’s mum multiple times, she had only spoken to his mum twice when she came to set and just a few sentences.   
“Now I won’t be able to sleep”, she said amusing him.   
“It makes two of us then”, he admitted and they laughed.   
Suddenly, Stephen leaned over and whispered to her ear: “but I can think of several things that will help us sleep…”  
She grinned. “I’m all yours, Mr Amell”, she said and kissed him. “I love you”, she murmured.   
And then he realized something.   
“That’s what I want to hear every single day for the rest of my life”, he told her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there!
> 
> I never cease to be impressed by your support. You're amazing :) 
> 
> However, I have to tell you something: there are not many chapters left, I'm sorry. So get ready for an ending in a few weeks :( 
> 
>  
> 
> As always, thanks!! 
> 
> Hope you liked it!
> 
> P.S.-I know nothing about law, so I'm sorry if the part about the custody was weird. I just made it up, you know...


	10. Chapter 10

That morning, Stephen was having a shower and, since they didn’t have too much time, Emily got in the bathroom as well to brush her teeth. Then, she saw Stephen’s toothbrush was there too. When she was done, she turned around and opened a little cupboard to look for a scrunchy when she saw some disposable razor blades Stephen had bought to use them while he was at Emily’s. She eventually got out the bathroom and went to the lounge to turn on the tv and watch the news as she prepared breakfast. Suddenly, she realized his phone was on the table, as well as the book he was reading right now: ‘Gone girl’, by Gillian Flynn. On her way to the kitchen she saw Stephen’s coat on the entrance’s hanger and his bag on the floor. She blinked twice. They weren’t living together, but it certainly seemed like it. 

When Stephen came to the lounge the table was already set. They sat down and started to eat.   
“I’m going to do a Q&A for facebook today”, Stephen told her.  
“Ah good. Any reason in particular?”   
He put some orange juice in their glasses.   
“Nope, but I want to”.   
She nodded and spread butter on her toast.   
“You know, many people say they’d like me to do a Q&A with you” .  
She looked at him and smiled sadly.   
“I’d love to, but that’s probably not a good idea right now. Rumors are not what we need”, she told him.   
“I know… well, maybe next time”, he concluded as he switched on his laptop. Suddenly, his eyes widened. “Wow…”  
Emily frowned. “What?”  
He turned his laptop so she could see the screen. “We’ve sold way too more fuck cáncer t-shirts tan what we expected! It’s awesome!”, he said really excited.   
She smiled. “Not surprised. Who wouldn’t want a t-shirt with your face in it?”  
He laughed and kissed her cheek.   
“We’d better go, we’re gonna be late”.   
They took Emily’s car to get to set. They were all the way there laughing and talking about a thousand different things. However, they didn’t know the director of the CW had seen them together. 

*** 

“By the way, when was the crossover screening?”, Willa asked.   
She, Colton and Emily were on the café during one of the breaks in set.   
“I think it’s next Wednesday”, Colton replied not very sure.   
Willa buffed. “It’s going to be insanely good”.   
“Definitely. And the episodes are awesome”, Colton said and she agreed.   
Then, Colton and Willa realized Emily was extremely quiet and, clearly, thinking about another thing.   
“Em, is everything ok?”, Colton asked her.   
Emily shrugged. “It’s Stephen”.   
Willa tilted her head. “Did you have a fight or something?”  
Emily shook her head, horrified. “Of course not”.   
Colton frowned. “Then?”  
Emily took a deep breathe. “Then my entire house is full of Stephen’s stuff”.   
Willa cracked up and Emily seemed annoyed. “Not funny”. 

“It’s as if we were living together without actually living together”, she explained herself.   
Willa nodded. “This is what I call the ‘ninja move-in’”, she said.   
Colton laughed. “The what?”  
Willa grinned. “Look, ninjas are very stealthy, right? You don’t see them coming. So it’s the same with moving in. He’s doing it so silently that you don’t realized he’s moved in until he’s completely there”, Willa explained.   
Emily chuckled. “Stephen’s not doing it on purpose”.   
Willa nodded with irony. “They never do…”  
The three of them laughed.   
“But the thing is… Do you want to live with him?”, Colton asked.   
Emily considered the idea. “I guess so”.   
Willa placed her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “So tell him”.   
Easier to say, more difficult to do, Emily thought. Besides, did she really want to live with him? Spend the 24 hours with him? She had never lived with any previous boyfriend. Was she ready for that? 

Later that day, they just finished filming one scene when they saw Robbie coming to where they were. David was the first to speak.   
“Hey man, what are you doing here?”  
Robbie hugged him friendly. “I was just shooting for the Flash and I decided to come by and say hi”.   
David opened his eyes widely. “True! You’ve got a small role in the Flash! God, when are we going to see you on Arrow?”  
They laughed.   
“Very soon, I hope”, Emily said.   
“Yeah, me too”, Robbie agreed.   
Stephen was a bit away, though net to them.   
“Stephen, can I talk to you?”, he asked.   
His cousin looked at him and nodded. Emily squeezed his hand just before he went apart with Robbie to calm him down and support him.   
They were some meters away now. At first none of them talked. Stephen had no idea if Robbie was there to keep fighting or coming to terms with him.   
“I’m sorry”, Robbie said finally.   
That took Stephen by surprise.   
“I’m sorry I haven’t support you lately”, he repeated. “We are family and we never give up on family. You made some mistakes, but you’re my family and I shoudn’t have turned my back on you”.   
Stephen smiled. “Better late than never”.   
They hugged and Emily smiled seeing them because she knew Robbie had made peace with Stephen.   
“Thank you, Robbie, this means a lot to me”.   
Robbie nodded. “You should thank Emily”.   
Stephen frowned. “Emily?”   
“She came to my place the other day and basically she told me to stop being a jerk”.   
Both of them laughed. Stephen felt better now. Robbie was more than a cousin for him: he was like a brother. And he needed him. He looked at Emily with the corner of his eyes: she was always so attentive and so protective of him… How could he not love her? 

 

That night Stephen would sleep in his own house: Cassandra was visiting her family with Mavi. As they had gone to set on Emily’s car, he drove her home and then he would take his own car (which was parked there) and went home. He accompanied her to the very same door of her house. They looked like a teen couple after an amazing date.   
“Well… “, Emily said. She didn’t want him to leave.   
“Remember to lock the door”, Stephen told her in a parental tone.   
“Yes, I will”.   
“Well, I’d better go”, he said and suddenly he remembered something. “By the way, Robbie told you talked to him”.   
Emily went red. “I might or might not have gone to his place…”, she murmured and made him smile. Stephen leaned down on her and kissed her softly. “Thank you”.   
“De rien”, she replied. He frowned.   
“French?”  
She tilted her head with a bright smile. “I’m full of surprises, you know…”   
He grinned. “You are, indeed”.   
He came even closer and surrounded her waist with his arms, bringing her closer to him.   
“See you tomorrow?”, he asked.   
“Sure. The dinner at my parents’ is closer, only two days for the big day”, she told him, making him roll his eyes.   
“Yeah… I’ll do my best not to embarrass you”.   
She laughed. “You could never embarrass me”, she answered, kissing his nose.   
He caressed her cheek and kissed her.   
“Well, I should probably go”, he said again.   
Emily grinned. “You’ve said that three times already and here you are. Why don’t you stay?”  
He shook his head with tender. “No, I prefer to leave you in peace for a few days. I don’t want you to hold a grudge against me”.   
She said nothing, but deep down she knew that was impossible.   
Finally, he kissed her with passion then left. She entered home and put on her pyjamas to be more comfortable. After that, she set the table and she realized she had taken two glasses (for her and Stephen) and smiled sadly. Truth was they had been “living” together for a very short time, but I guess people get used to good things very easily.   
Once she washed the dishes, she brushed her teeth and went to bed. She couldn’t help it: unwillingly she looked for Stephen with her hand in the other half of her bed. But he wasn’t there. She was alone. And for whatever reason, despite having been living like that for many years now, she felt alone. 

Two days went by like this. She didn’t expect it, but Emily missed Stephen at home. Even though they didn’t do anything special, just having him around made her feel happy. Thus, she ran to his trailer first thing in the morning and gave him a big hug. He was surprised to be given so much love out of a sudden with no apparent reason.   
“What was that for?”, he asked with a huge smile.   
She kissed his lips briefly. “I’ve missed you”.   
“But you see me everyday”, he reminded her amused.   
She nodded. “Yeah, but I’m used to being with you almost 24h a day, at home and all and… these nights without you have been… a shit”, she admitted, blushing.   
He embraced her. “I’ve missed you too, but I didn’t want to be annoying”.   
“You’re not. Actually…”, she said handing him a big shoes box. “This is for you”.   
He took the box and opened it just to find a smaller one inside. He opened the second box and he saw another one inside. He opened a total of six boxes until he found a very small one.   
“I hope this is the last one”.   
“Yes, it is”, she said laughing.   
Stephen opened the box and found a little key.   
He looked at Emily surprised. “Is this what I think it is?”  
She nodded. “Yes. Anyway, most of your things are already in my place, so…”   
“And when I have to take care of Mavi?”, he asked her worried.   
Emily took his face with both her hands. “If I am with you is with all the consequences. I knew you had a daughter before you and I started dating, that’s not news. Besides, she’s awesome, so I won’t mind having her around more often”, she said and Stephen could help but hug her very tightly. He wish he never had to let her go. 

It was Friday already and some members of the cast were having lunch together. David was talking about his son; apparently, he had now a girlfriend and he was shocked.   
“Oh, come on, David, your son is almost a teenager, it was about time he started goofing around with girls”, Willa said as if it was the most logical thing.   
“He’s too young”, he insisted.   
“I pity that poor girl”, Emily joked.  
“You guys are not sensitive at all”, David said very serious, though everyone knew he was joking too.   
“I get you, David. The day my daughter has a boyfriend that will be when I get so depressed I could never get out of bed”, Stephen said.   
“Gosh, you cannot protect your children forever. We all grow up, even them”, Willa reminded them.   
“I know, but Mavi is my little girl…”, Stephen explained feeling nostalgic.   
Emily hit him softy on his arm. “Hey, I thought that was me…”  
Colton helped him then: “You’re his big girl, Em”.   
“Exactly”, Stephen agreed and they all laughed except for David.   
“What did I miss here?”, he asked looking at Stephen and Emily in turns.   
“A lot, man”, Stephen told him clapping his back.   
Willa explained everything to him, but very briefly and then David grinned.   
“What’s that smile?”, Emily asked intrigued.   
“I already suspected something”, David told them with a vain smile.   
“How come?”, Colton asked as surprised as the rest.   
“I’m old now, I’ve seen a lot and believe me, I know when two people are in love”, he explained and Emily blushed.   
“Better then”, Stephen concluded.   
“I have many questions, though”, David informed them.   
Emily tilted her head. “Then, you’d better talk to Stephen later”.   
“So soon in your relationship and she’s starting to foist problems on you, Stephen?,”Colton joked and everyone laughed.   
“So this is serious then”, David repeated.   
“In fact, tonight we have dinner at my parents’, so yes it is”, Emily told him.   
“Uuh… Are you nervous, Stephen?” Willa asked.   
He shrugged. “Just a bit, but nothing that cannot be controlled”.   
Then, Colton did the scary question: “Well, Em, and when are you paying a visit to Stephen’s family?”  
“I hope in a very long time”, she said and right after Stephen said ignoring her: On Sunday”.   
Emily’s eyes popped out. “ON SUNDAY?”  
“But you already know his mum, right?”, David remarked.   
“Yes, but I think the amount of minutes I’ve talked to her is 15 or so”.   
Stephen placed his hand on her back. “She’s very lovely, it’ll be ok, you’ll see”. 

 

Eventually, that dinner at her parents’ was there. She felt calm. After all, it was her family, there was nothing to fear. However, little did she know it wouldn’t be as good as she thought.   
They arrived came inside. Stephen greeted everyone. He knew all of them, but the person he knew the best was Emily’s mother. He found her father very kind and her brothers (both older than her) quite friendly. One of them, Dylan, was a teacher, whereas the other one, Mark, was a journalist. Stephen stayed with her brothers and her mother as Emily and her father served the dinner. Emily was glad that her brothers were behaving themselves so far.   
During the dinner, she confessed something:  
“Well, now that we’re all together I’d like to tell you something”, she started. She swallowed and then added: “Stephen and I are going to live together”.   
At first everyone remained silent, but then they congratulated them. Suddenly, her father asked:  
“But… you will sleep in separate beds, right?”   
He was looking at Stephen, so he felt obliged to answer. The whole family knew the father was joking, but Stephen was new there. He was paralyzed; he didn’t know what to say.   
“Yeah, sure”, he finally managed to say.   
Then, Emily’s father cracked up. “I wasn’t born yesterday, Stephen. I know my daughter and you already sleep together and God knows what”.   
Then Stephen breathed and Emily blushed.   
“Well, daddy, now that we all know that, there’s no need to go into details, right?”  
He nodded and Dylan decided to be in charge of the conversation.   
“And will you live in your apartment, Em, or will you move to a different place?”, he asked.   
Emily shrugged. “No idea. In my house for the moment, I think”.   
Stephen agreed. “Yes, we will see in the future”.   
Her father tilted his head. “I guess you’ll have to move to a bigger house when you have children”.   
Emily choke.   
“Yeah, this is what always happens”, Mark said.   
She was stressing out. Children?   
“But in your case you already have Mavi”, her mum remarked.   
Stephen nodded. “I intend to have her custody, so she’ll come with us”.   
Mark laughed. “So lucky, Emily, you’re going to be a mum without giving birth and suffering”.   
She felt really overwhelmed. Becoming a mum? But she was only 23 years old!  
“And when are you going public?”, Dylan asked. “It’ll be a bombshell”.   
Stephen shook his head. “We don’t really know. When I am divorced and everything is calmer we’ll talk about it”.   
“You have to be careful, people can be very mean sometimes”, her mother told them.   
“Yeah…”, he replied, noticing how strange Emily was acting. Something happened to her, definitely.   
The rest of the soiree was quiet; all of them talking about a thousand things, though Emily hardly took part in it. Finally, the went to the car. She was still in silence. Stephen sighed.   
“Are you ok?”  
She nodded. “Yes”.   
“Sure?”  
She pretended a smile. “Positive”.   
Stephen didn’t believe her at all, but he couldn’t force her to tell him what was going on. When they got home, they went to bed in silence. He kissed her hair and whispered ‘good night’.   
Next day, she seemed to be more cheerful, although she was a bit distant still. On Sunday, they were having lunch with Stephen’s family. She was nervous breakdown. She tried five or six outfits.   
“What do you think of this one?” she asked him. She was wearing a brown dress.  
“It’s great”, he answered.   
She was annoyed. “You’ve said the same about the other outfits!”  
He laughed. “Because you look good with any of them”  
She sighed. “I can’t wear this. It looks too bitchy”, she concluded coming back to the bathroom and making him smile internally. At the end, she wore a pair of blue jeans, a pink jersey and her black boots. Casual but cute. When they arrived, his mum greeted them and after hugging both of them, she invited them to come inside.   
Opposite to Emily’s parents’, this was a very big house. It appeared they had money. Not rich-level, but money. Then, she met his father Charles and his sister Susan.   
They had chicken for lunch with some salad.   
“So Emily, tell us about yourself”, Charles asked her in an innocent way.   
She shrugged. “Uhm… I was born and grew up here in Canada, I was a very good girl and then one day I decided I wanted to be an actress. And here we are…”  
They smiled at her.   
“Did you go to university?”, Susan asked.   
She shook her head. “No, when I graduated from high school I went to a special school to prepare myself as an actress”, she explained. She had never felt bad for not having gone to university and she was sure Susan didn’t mean to make her feel bad, but when your family-in-law is analyzing you, it feels bad. You wish you were the perfect girl.   
“So which roles have you done before arrow?”, his mum asked.   
“Well… not much, actually. We could say Arrow is my first role”.   
Charles tilted his head. “And what did you do for a living?”  
“I worked in an animal shop. I loved it. I like animals, you know”, she said trying to sound enthusiastic.   
“Oh, cool”, Susan replied. “I used to work in one too, in summers when I was 22 or 23. You know, these teen jobs we all do sometime”.   
Emily blushed. “Yeah, well… I _am_ 23”.   
“Oh, really?”, his mum was shocked.   
Stephen helped her. “Yes, but she is quite mature for her age”.   
All of them nodded and kept on eating in silence. Right then, she felt so tiny, so insignificant… No one could know how she felt.   
Then, they saw an ad of 50 shades of Grey on tv.  
“Oh, Stephen, do you remember that film you and I went to watch together? It was for adults too and at that time it was really good”.   
Stephen laughed. “yeah, mum didn’t want you to take me to the cinema, but you did anyway”.   
He nodded. “Yes, it was in 1996 I think. I took you to the cinema because I knew you’d see it anyway, with or without me…”  
“So it was risqué, I assume”, Emily commented.   
His mum smiled. “Oh yes, it was. Didn’t you see it?”  
Emily tried to smile. “Ehm… I was 5 years old in 1996, so…”  
Everyone turned uncomfortable.   
“Oh, sure… I keep forgetting how young you are”, Charles said.   
Stephen saw Emily’s face. She was upset, that for sure. And he was sure she was looking forward to leaving that house.   
A bit later, they were on the lounge, taking a look at some photos. Then, Emily observed one in which Stephen was very young and he was wearing a black suit. His mother noticed it.   
“You like it?”, she asked Emily and she nodded.   
“He looks so innocent…”  
Stephen grinned. “I am”, he said.   
His mother caressed his shoulder. “This is the day of his first Holy Communion. He was 10”.   
Susan chuckled. “You weren’t even born, Emily. How funny is that?”  
Emily would wanted to tell her that it was not funny at all. She felt like shit. And it just got worse.   
“So…”, Susan started. “Would you like to have more children or is it enough with Mavi?”  
Emily dropped his wineglass and it fell to the floor.   
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry”, she apologized and she tried to clean it.   
“Don’t worry, it’s ok”, Stephen’s mother said with a smile. “People say it brings good luck”.   
Emily went to the kitchen with her to look for something to clean it properly.   
“Emily, I want you to know that even though Cassandra is like a daughter for me, I trust my son’s decisions and we’re going to treat you as family. In fact, I’d like to meet you sometime alone and get to know each other a litte bit more”, she said.   
And she was so nice that Emily just nodded.   
“Of course”, she managed to say. 

Finally, they said bye to everyone and got in the car. Emily was out of it, looking out of the window.   
“Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong?”, he said.   
She didn’t even bother to look at him. “Nothing”.   
“I don’t believe you”.   
She shrugged. “Fine…”   
But he wasn’t willing to leave that conversation there. As soon as he could, he parked the car, making her look at him.   
“What are you doing?”, she asked him in shock.   
“Speak now”, he told her in a really serious voice.   
Emily was silent at first, but Stephen’s firm look made her blow out.   
“I’m stressed! And I feel like shit and I feel like I disappoint everyone and… I don’t know…”  
Stephen put his hand on her arm, trying to calm her down.   
“What do you mean?”  
“Everyone expects something from me, either be a really mature woman or have children or raise Mavi and be like her mother… And I’, 23 years old, Stephen, 23! The last thing I could think of right now is kids or marriage or anything like that. And you are 33 so at some point in our relationship you’ll want to have children, I guess, and that will be soon if you don’t want to look like the grandfather instead of the father, and I am still so young and-  
She was about to collapse and hyperventilate, so he kissed her. When he noticed her body relaxed, he got apart.   
“We’ll have a kid when we BOTH want to, Em. Even if it is in 5 years time. I don’t care. I’m not in a hurry”.   
She looked down.   
“Yeah, but then there’s Mavi…”  
Stephen frowned. “What about her? You said you didn’t mind her living with us”  
“And I don’t, but don’t expect me to be her mother because she already has one. And can’t not want to be her mother. I’m only supposed to be the one who spoils her…”  
She was about to cry, he could see that. Very slowly, he came closer and embraced her.   
Eventually, she hugged him too.   
“I don’t expect you to be her mum, Em”.   
“Really?”  
He whispered in her ear: I promise”.   
However, once he got apart she kept looking down.   
“Is there something else, right?”  
She nodded.   
“It’s… It’s just… Gosh, your family was talking about things that happened when I was a baby and that made me feel like nothing compared to you. Like this relationship was insane, like this makes no sense…”   
Stephen approached her again and stared at her lips. She became nervous. They were hardly separated. He put his hand on her stomach. “Do you feel it? The butterflies?”   
She nodded. Then he kissed the corner of her lips and murmured with a really sensual voice: “Do you feel it? Your hear skipping a beat?”  
She nodded. He kissed her neck as he caressed her thigh, making her close her eyes and go breathless.   
“Do you feel it? The heat?”  
She looked directly to his eyes with the desire in her eyes. “Yes”.   
“Then don’t you ever again say this doesn’t make sense, because it does”.   
He leaned down and kissed her softly. “I am in love with you”, he told her staring at her eyes. “Screw the rest of the world, Em”.   
She smiled honestly for the first time. “Promise me we’ll always be together”.   
He kissed again. “I promise”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! 
> 
> As you can see, in this chapter I wanted to show the real problems I assume Emily (or anyone in her situation) would have to face and the tension it brings. 
> 
> Also, it was a bit longer because I won't be able to post in a week or so :( 
> 
> Till then, see you and have fun!
> 
> Let me know what you think!  
> Thanks for your support :)


	11. Chapter 11

There’s nothing better than coming home after a long day of work and get a surprise from your girlfriend, which is what happened with Stephen. It had been a long day on set and Emily had left some hours ago, while he had to stay to rehearse some stunts. He could have gone away, but he wanted to leave everything fixed and in control. On his way home he was incredibly tired and he was looking forward to sitting on the couch next to Emily. Then, he entered Emily’s apartment and frowned when he realized she was nowhere to be seen.   
“Em?”, he asked raising his voice, but he got no answer.   
He opened the bathroom’s door, but there was nobody inside. Then, he thought that she may be already sleeping, so he went to their bedroom. However, the bed was empty.   
“Pss”, he heard on his back. He turned around there she was, next to the door, wearing one of his ‘sinceriously’ hoodies. In fact, that was the only thing she was wearing. It was so big and baggy that went almost to her knees.   
“Looking for someone?”, she asked leaning on the wall with a nonchalant attitude.   
He chuckled and approached her walking slowly.   
“What’s this?”, he asked looking at her outfit.   
“I just bought one. Do you like it?”   
He smiled widely. “Yes, though it‘s a pity you’re going to be wearing it for such a short time”, he said and immediately he captured her lips fiercely, pinning her up the wall.   
His quick and virile reaction took her by surprise, but soon enough she placed one of her hands around his neck while the other explored his back under his shirt.   
“I’m assuming you liked the little surprise”, she managed to say between kisses.   
“You have no idea how much I liked it…”, he whispered.   
His tongue made his entrance and met Emily’s while at the same time, he massaged her butt, which was completely exposed. It was firm and hard, the one everyone would dream of. Stephen began to bend down and spread kisses on her thighs, making her moan.   
“May I…?”, he asked looking at her eyes and she seemed to know perfectly well what he referred to.   
“You may…”, was her only response.   
Thus, got down on his knees separated her legs a bit and with no hesitation he licked her inside. She entangled her hands with Stephen’s hair, gasping for air. She had never done anything like that, neither had he, but when you find the right person you always want more of them, in every possible sense.   
When she was done, he went up and kissed her. It was a weird sensation: she was tasting her own fluids. She found it really intimate to share things like this with someone. They were sharing herself. She had always considered it quite disgusting. Not anymore, I’m afraid.   
Then he decided it was time to get rid of ‘hoddie Stephen’.   
“Enough of me”, he said taking off the hoodie from Emily.   
She was completely naked now. He took a moment to admire her figure and then took her to bed. They had a long, young and wild night ahead. 

 

Stephen woke up quite early: he had to pass by Cassandra’s house, which was indeed _his_ house. He knew Cassandra would be up by the time he got there. She was making some coffee when he entered. She looked surprised to see him right in front of her. She was used to seeing him 24/7 and now she barely saw him.   
“Morning”, he said putting the keys in his pocket.   
She focused again on her coffee. “Hi”.   
“Is Mavi sleeping yet?”, he asked. Thanks God there was Mavi: otherwise what else they could talk about?  
“Yes, she is”.   
He sat on the kitchen table while observing her spread some butter on her toast.   
“Have you had breakfast?”, she asked him.   
Stephen nodded. “Yeah, thanks”.   
Then, she frowned and Stephen feared her question.   
“So, where are you staying? I talked to Italia and she told me you’re not sleeping there, and I assume you’re not at your parents’, they live far”.   
He thought of making up something, but then he decided it would be better to be honest with each other.   
“I’m staying at Emily’s”.   
Cassandra abandoned her toast for a moment to stare at him.   
“You’re living with her?”, her tone was almost accusatory.   
He sighed. “Yes, I am living with her. In fact I’d like to come and take my stuff as soon as possible”.   
Cassandra took her plate and cup of coffee and sat opposite to Stephen.   
“So this is it? We’re done?”   
Stephen hesitated, he didn’t want her to collapse, but he had to tell her about the divorce. That was why he had gone there.   
“Actually not yet”, he said and then he handed her some papers.   
“What’s that?”  
“The documents you have to sign for the divorce. We won’t be done until you do so”, he explained calmly.   
She took the papers and read through them.   
“What am I supposed to do now? Tell my family that this is over?”  
Stephen took a deep breath. “You’ll find someone like I have, I’m sure. You’re pretty, nice and… and-and beautiful”.   
She smiled with irony and put the papers back on the table. “It’s funny: there was a time when there weren’t enough adjectives for you to describe me and now you can only come up with three, two of them meaning the same”, she told him harshly.   
He pressed his lips. “Things change”.   
She nodded. “Tell me about it…”  
They remained silent.   
“I’ll think about it”, she finally said.   
Stephen’s eyes popped out. Think about it? What the hell was she talking about? However, it was better to let it go for now. This wasn’t war and she needed time to assimilate the changes in her life.   
He nodded, stood up and went to Mavi’s room to kiss her forehead. Then he came back to the kitchen and looked at Cassandra before leaving.   
“See you later, have a nice day”.   
He was about to open the door when she spoke.   
“Stephen?”, and he turned to face her. “You can come and take your stuff tomorrow afternoon around five. I’ll be out with Mavi”, she told him.   
He nodded again and left. He knew Cassandra well and he knew she hadn’t given up yet. But right now there was nothing else he could do. 

After his ‘meeting’ with Cassandra, he picked up Emily and headed to set together. In just a few days the big Crossover event between Arrow and The Flash would take place and that was everything people talked about that day on set.   
“And the screening is in LA, God exists…”, Emily said putting her hands together as if praying.   
David chuckled. “Really? I don’t know what you like so much about LA”.   
Willa rolled her eyes. “Seriously?”, she asked and immediately she looked at Stephen and, with a mocking smile she said “I mean, sinceriously?”  
Stephen grinned.   
“LA: sun, hot, handsome boys… impossible not to like it”, Willa continued.   
David puffed and Emily laughed, leaning on Stephen, who placed his arm around her.   
“Women…”, he murmured, making Stephen crack up.   
Out of the blue, Stephen saw Time Warner, the owner of the CW and Marc Guggenheim approaching them.   
“Anything to declare?”, Willa asked David teasing him.   
But Stephen was no longer paying attention. By the look in Warner’s eyes he knew something was wrong.   
“Hello everybody”, Marc said, catching their attention.   
They seemed surprised. Not everyday do you see the owner of the CW on set.   
“Hi Marc, hi Mr Warner”, Stephen greeted them. “Is everything ok?”  
“Can we have a word with you and Miss Rickards?”, the owner required.   
Emily became pale. “Yes, sure”, Stephen replied.   
Willa squeezed Emily’s hand to support her and Stephen gave her a smile trying to calm her down, but deep down this indicated bad news. They followed them to Time Warner’s office.   
“Have a seat, please”, he told them.   
Emily and Stephen sat down, but the other two men remained on their feet.   
Emily’s hands were sweating.   
“Well, I’ve heard some rumours, so I’m going to ask you a simple question and I just want a yes/no answer”, Warner explained. “Do you have a romantic relationship?”  
She swallowed.   
“We’re just-  
“Yes or no?”, he interrupted Stephen.   
He sighed. “Yes”.   
Time Warner crossed his arms. “If I am not mistaken you are married”.   
Stephen nodded. “We’re getting divorced”.   
Warner leaned on the wooden desk that separated him from the couple.   
“I’m going to be very clear: the CW (and of course, the Warner) pays you to play Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak. People love your characters. People admire you, both of you. If you get divorced to start dating your co-star, this is going to be bad press for us. The perfect Stephen Amell abandons his wife and little daughter to be with a teenager. Or even worse: the wonderful Emily Bett Rickards destroys a family. It would affect the show and the CW directly. And we don’t want that”.   
Stephen was mad, very mad. He hated being told what he could or couldn’t do.   
“So now you’re going to dictate our lives?”, he asked with irony.   
“If your actions can affect me, yes, I am”.   
He was pressing his fist very tight.   
“People love the show. Our actions won’t change anything. Our viewers know to distinguish reality and television”.   
Warner smiled, but Emily sort of feared that smile. “We pay you not only to be on this Arrow show, we pay you to be model actors and people. People have to love you. If they love you, they’ll love the show. That’s simple”.   
Stephen stood up. Marc took a step closer, afraid Stephen could do something stupid.   
“Then fire me. Because I intend to get divorced whether you like it or not”, he said firmly.   
Emily stood too and squeezed his hand.   
Marc came closer. “Guys, you need to understand that your lives can affect the CW. This is a business. This is money”, he said nicely.   
“And don’t you dare make me lose money”, Warner added.   
Stephen was out of his mind, completely angry and frustrated.   
But he knew there was no point in arguing, so instead he smiled bitterly, took Emily by the hand and they left the office. Emily was following him until they reached his trailer. Once inside, he sat on his little sofa and put his head on his hands. She sat next to him and caressed his back and shoulder.   
“Stephen… talk to me”, she begged him.   
He took a deep breath. “We’re actors, not puppeteers. This is our life we are talking about, not another of their shows”, he shouted.   
She leaned on him. “Shh…”, she whispered trying to calm him down.   
“This is bullshit”.   
“I know”, she agreed. “But we need to be professional now. We cannot start a fight”.   
Stephen looked at her. “What do you mean?”  
She sighed. “I mean that… we’ll do what we want with our lives, but maybe we should keep it in secret for a while”.   
Stephen’s eyes widened. “For a while meaning until we finish the show?”  
She shrugged. “I don’t know. But you could announce your divorce and not say anything about me. Just wait a bit more so that people do not relate things. Not for the show, but for us. It could hit us very hard and I don’t want that”.   
Stephen considered it and realized that maybe she was right.   
“You know what? Let’s not think about it today. I’m tired of this”.   
She smiled. “You’re right”, she agreed. “Let’s focus on tomorrow’s dinner at Robbie’s”, she suggested.   
“Yeah… I’m really looking forward to it”, he admitted. “I’ve missed him”.   
She kissed his cheek. “We’ll have fun”.   
He nodded and suddenly his phone started to ring. He check the screen: it was his mum.   
“Hey mum!”, he said trying to sound cheerful. “How are you? Good. Yes, she’s with me, why? Oh, ok, yeah, just one second”.  
He covered his phone and whispered: “She wants to talk to you”.  
Emily frowned, but took the phone anyway. “Hello? Hi! Great, and you? Don’t worry, we’re on a break. Yes. Of course, why not? Sure. Yeah, I know where it is. That’s it, we have the screening. Perfect. Yes, absolutely. Ok. You too. Bye”, and she hung up.   
Stephen tilted his head. “What was that about?”  
She seemed shocked. “No idea. She wanted us to meet and have a coffee together”.   
He smiled. “That’s good, isn’t it?”  
She nodded slowly. “I guess so”.   
The rest of the day was a bit uncomfortable as everytime they saw Marc, Stephen became tense. And the same happened next day. However, they left work very happy because they were going to Stephen’s house to take his stuff and bring them to Emily’s apartment. And there they were: Emily was putting Stephen’s clothes inside a couple of luggage and he was keeping all his possessions (his books, his comics, his posters, his little toys, etc) inside different boxes. Then, at the back of the wardrobe, Emily saw a box. She was curious so she opened it: it was full of photo albums. Stephen and Cassandra everywhere and then Mavi. She opened one of them. It was their wedding. They seemed very happy and in love. There were a great amount of pictures of both of them playing with Mavi, hugging her, with the rest of the family… Slowly, very slowly, a tear rolled down her cheek.   
“Did you finish with the clothes?”, he asked, showing his face in the wardrobe. Emily tried to wipe away her tears, but he had already seen her.   
“Am I so ugly in the pictures that you have to cry?”, he joked.   
“You look extremely happy”, she replied, ignoring his teasing.   
Stephen realized this was serious.   
“Yeah, well, you don’t usually take pictures in the bad moments”, he added.   
She bit her lower lip. “All these memories… all these good moments… I feel like I’m taking everything from you”.   
Stephen frowned. “Not at all. I am the one who decided this, remember?”  
She nodded. “I know, but… “  
He knelt down and wiped her tears with his finger. “But nothing”, he finished the sentence.   
“I have so many good memories with Cassandra, that is true and I’ll never forget them. They’re part of me, part of my life, as well as her. But hopefully, well, not hopefully, surely, we’re gonna create new ones. We are already creating memories, moments that will go with me every step of the way”.   
Emily rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry I always have these little crisis and bother you”.   
He kissed her forehead. “You never bother me, but even if you did, I’d still love it”.   
Emily chuckled. “How could you love it? Me being so paranoid is a pain in the ass”.   
Stephen kissed her nose. “It is indeed, but I tend to believe it is flaws and imperfections that we fall in love with. There flaws are what we miss the most when we’re far from our belovers”.  
Emily smiled kindly. “Really?”  
He nodded. “And what are my flaws, apart from being paranoid?”   
He considered the question. “Well, you’re hyperactive, impulsive, you never wash the dishes and I have to do it at the end, you don’t make your bed because you think it is a waste of time since you’re gonna sleep again at night and that is so lazy and immature… and you love those tv series which are so typical, predictable and cheap and even worse, you make me watch them”.   
She laughed. “But you know what?”, he asked her and she shook her head, waiting for the answer. “You wouldn’t be you without this and then I wouldn’t love you as much as I do and we wouldn’t be here, so I couldn’t be happier that you don’t make your bed”.   
She chuckled. “That is the most romantic thing I’ve ever been told”, she said making him laugh.   
“Oh God… I can think of so many things we could do right now…But this is not the right place”, Stephen added with a dirty look.   
“Nope. And neither is it the right time: we have to be at Robbie and Italia’s house at eight”.   
He nodded. “True. Later then?”  
She smiled and kissed him. “Deal”.   
She stood up but he stopped her before she could leave the room, grabbing her by her hand.   
Once she faced him again, he cupped her face in his hands. “Are you really ok now?”  
She nodded with energy. “I am”.   
“Promise me?”  
“I promise. Besides, how could I ever be bad if I am with you?”  
He leaned on her and kissed her lips softly. “Emily Bett Rickards, you’re gonna be the death of me”.  
She laughed. “You always say that”.   
“Because it’s true!”  
She caressed his cheek. “Let’s go home”.   
He breathed in with his eyes opened. “Home… you and I… together… How nice that sounds”.   
“It does, right? Home… you and I… together… and forever”.   
Stephen came closer and whispered to her ear: “Forever and always”.   
“Forever and always”, she repeated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there!
> 
> Sorry it took me so long! (Wow, now I sound like Stephen ,right? Stevia Stephen hahaha) Anyway, I've been retty busy lately and that's why I couldn't update the fic earlier. Thank you for being so patient :) 
> 
> As always, let me know what you think and share your ideas, proposals, anything you may think is interesting for me and the rest :D 
> 
> Thanks!!! 
> 
>  
> 
> Sara


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there!
> 
> I don't if I've lost the direction: this chapter may be a bit too much, I'm not sure. Anyway, you've been warned. 
> 
> Also, I introduced some text conversation, which is been missing for a while. I usually find these conversations quite... hot, so I hope it's the same for you. 
> 
> So... enjoy the chapter and please, let me know what you think. I'm going through some difficult moments in relation to inspiration, so get to know what you think may help me and motivate me :) 
> 
> Thank you so much!!

It was seven pm when Stephen and Emily knocked on the door and Robbie appeared with a bright smile. They hugged each other tightly and he invited them to come inside. Emily smiled to herself: she and Stephen we wearing sport clothes because they knew Robbie and Italia were normal people and they needn’t to dress fancy. In fact, they were wearing their pyjamas and Emily couldn’t love them more. They had ordered pizza: it was the ‘fat night’, as Italia liked to call it.   
“This is delicious”, Emily commented when she tried it.   
Italia winked at her. “I always give you the best, babe”, and they both laughed, causing her boyfriends to look at each other and roll their eyes.   
“So tell me, how has the moving in gone?”, Robbie asked.   
Stephen sighed. “We can definitely say that all my stuff is at Emily’s now”.   
Italia clapped. “So you’re finally living together!”   
“Yeah, about time”, Emily whispered.   
“And what about Cassandra?”, Robbie said and automatically everyone turned serious.   
“I gave her the documents she has to sign for the divorce”, Stephen replied.   
Italia pressed her lips. “I’m proud of you, Stephen”.   
He looked at her in surprise. “Not everyone is this brave to change their lives 180º, but you have, and I’m glad you did”.   
Stephen smiled and squeezed her hand with gratitude.   
“Yeah, you’re finally doing things right”, Robbie agreed.   
“Well, now we have a new problem”, Emily said a bit sad.   
Italia and Robbie frowned. “What’s up?”  
“The director of the CW has talked to us and basically he told us we could not be together and I could not divorce because this is bad reputation for the show and he doesn’t want to lose money”, Stephen explained.   
Italia’s eyes widened. “OMG, I can’t believe it! You’re lying!”   
Emily laughed bitterly. “I wish we were”.   
“And what are you goona do?”Robbie wanted to know.   
“Fight, of course”, Italia added. “You have to stand for your rights. This is your life and nobody should be allowed to manage your lives”.   
Emily smiled softly. “Thanks, love. Anyway, we’ll continue with our lives but once the divorce is public, we will wait some time to let the world know about our relationship. We don’t want to mess it up”.   
Robbie nodded. “That’s quite smart. But will you have the patience to pretend you’re not together?”  
Stephen shrugged. “We have no other choice”.   
“Well, whatever happens, we’re here for you”, Italia told them.   
“You’re so sweet… thank you”, Emily answered.   
They kept on talking and eating until they finished and boys offered to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen, so girls sat on the sofa and gossiped a bit.   
Italia looked at the boys and saw they were walking and busy, not paying attention to them, so she leaned over and asked:   
“So tell me, how is Stephen in bed? Because Robbie is sooo good…”, she admitted half laughing.   
Emily chuckled. “Well… then I think it may be the genes because Stephen is awesome too”, she said and both cracked up.   
Italia tilted her head. “You know, it feels great to be able to talk to you about this. I mean… I couldn’t do this with Cassandra”.   
Emily shrugged. “I guess that’s because I’m so silly and I love goofing around”.   
Italia added with a smile: “Then that makes two of us”.   
And Emily felt great. She had always got along with Italia, but now they seemed closer and having her by her side made her feel safer and supported.   
“Well, well”, Robbie said as they sat next to their girlfriends. “The Flarrow crossover is around the corner”.   
Emily nodded as Stephen embraced her and put her closer to him. “Yeah, we’re flying to LA tomorrow night”.   
“Tomorrow will be a long day”, Stephen commented.   
Italia puffed. “It will, indeed. And what are you wearing?”  
Stephen and Robbie rolled their eyes.   
“I don’t know yet. That day I’ll go shopping with Danielle, the one who plays Caitlin-  
“Yes, I met her the other day”, Italia told her.   
“Good, so I’ll go with her and we’ll try to find something to wear”.   
“Because she has absolutely no clothes in the wardrobe”, Stephen told Robbie with an ironic tone.   
“Shut up, Amell”, Emily replied. “You men, always so understanding…”  
Stephen grinned and bit her cheek, to which she reacted moving apart as she tried not to laugh. “Stop it…”   
Stephen leaned on her and tried to kiss her, but she began laughing, as well as Italia and Robbie and he stopped.   
“You two are adorable”, Italia said with a smile on her face.   
“I am, he’s not”, Emily answered teasing her boyfriend, who tickled her. “Ok, ok, he is adorable too”, she said so that he stopped.   
After a while, they decided it was time to go home. Robbie and Stephen were on the door, waiting for the girls to come.   
“You know it’s been ages since the last time I saw you this happy”, Robbie told his cousin, who smiled.   
“It’s all Emily’s fault”, the other said with a grin.   
“It is, and I’m sorry I was so blind that I couldn’t see how much you love her and need to be with her”.   
“The past is the past”, Stephen conceded.   
They smiled and hugged each other.   
“Wow, are we sensitive now?”, Emily joked.   
They got apart and laughed. “Let’s go home”, Stephen said as he kissed Emily’s forehead.   
“Thanks for coming, guys. Next time in your place”, Italia said reminding everyone that they were now living together.   
“Sure, _our_ place”, Emily repeated staring at Stephen with infinite love.   
Eventually, they left and got home. They still had to put some of the Stephen’s stuff in order, but there was not enough space, so it’d have to wait.   
They were already in bed. Stephen was checking his email on the phone whereas Emily was just sitting on the bed, smiling.   
“We’re sleeping together”, she said excited.   
Stephen looked at her amused.   
“Ahm… yeah, but we’ve done it before”.  
She tilted her head. “But this is our first night together since we’re officially living together”.   
He grinned. “Well, then… we should celebrate that, right?”  
Emily nodded wildly. Then he put his phone on the table next to the bed and kissed her neck. Sleeping was not an option anymore. However, they regretted their fierce night the next day when the alarm o’clock started at 6am. Emily stopped it and touched Stephen’s arm slowly. He mumbled something, complaining about the alarm.   
“From now on, no more sex from 3 am onwards. We really need our beauty sleep”, she said with a sleepy voice. So as tired as they were, they packed a small luggage since they had to go to set and, right after filming, they’d catch a flight to LA. They didn’t have time to come back home. It was an eternal day, but finally they got to LA and David, Emily, Stephen and Grant had a reservation in a restaurant to have dinner together before the big day. They were talking about some fun moments when filming the crossover when Emily’s phone rang. It was her whatsapp, her friends’ group. Apparently they were all together, partying hard and they were sending her the pictures. She sighed staring at the screen of her phone. Stephen looked at her.   
“Is everything ok?”, he asked.   
She took a deep breath. “Yeah, yeah…”  
Grant pressed his lips together. “It doesn’t seem so”.   
Emily waved her hand. “You know, it’s just my friends. They’re in a pub, having fun, all together, drinking, and I wish I was there with them”.   
David nodded. “Oh, well, thank you. So you don’t want to be here”  
The other three laughed. “Of course I do! But today I feel like going out, that’s all”.   
_She’s young, indeed_ , Stephen thought. After not having slept at all and the long day on set, she still wanted to go out, whereas all he wanted to do was sleep.   
“Why don’t we go somewhere after dinner?” Emily proposed totally excited.   
“If you know how to count, don’t count on me”, David said and Grant cracked up.   
“Yeah, me neither. I’m not the party kind of guy, you know…”, he justified himself.   
Emily expected their answers, but somehow she thought Stephen would think differently.   
“I’m tired tonight, Em. Maybe tomorrow”, he said.   
And she felt totally surprised. Hence, they went back to the hotel. She wasn’t mad at him or the others, but she was a bit disappointed. She had felt really like going out and nobody wanted to. So despite not being angry, she was upset and sometimes when you’re upset you blame it on the wrong person and you actually mess it up.   
“Please, let’s go out”, she begged him when they had just entered their room.   
Stephen took his pjs and started to change. “I’m tired, Emily. Today’s been hard with the filming and the flight and well, last night we hardly slept”.   
And here it was.  
“Tired? And you were not tired to have dinner with your cousin yesterday?”  
Stephen stared at her and could not believe what he was hearing. And maybe it was the tiredness or maybe it was Emily’s tone or her childish behaviour, but Stephen took it wrong.   
“Well, that’s the problem when you date 33-year-old men: they’ve lived more than you, they’ve already partied enough and they are tired and just want a quiet and calm life, meaning having a relaxing dinner. If you wanted to party hard, you should have picked Colton or someone of your age”.  
Emily took her pjs from the luggage visibly angry,   
“Yeah, maybe I should have done that”, she replied going to the bathroom, pjs in hand.   
Stephen went to bed and five minutes later, so did she. They said nothing else. They just tried to sleep, which was quite difficult for Emily. She knew she was wrong and had been stupid. However, she finally fell asleep. Next day, when she waoke up, Stephen wasn’t by her side. Instead, there was a note: “I went running”. So he was not there, but she couldn’t wait for him: she had to meet Danielle and go shopping. They needed something to wear that evening.   
It wasn’t until 11 in the morning, when they were in a taxi on their way to the mall, that Emily had the courage to text Stephen. 

_I went shopping with Danielle_   
_have fun_   
_I hate this._  
 _going shopping?_  
_us being angry._  
_So do I._  
_I’m sorry, I was unfair with you last night._  
_I was cruel, I’m sorry too._  
_Where are you?_  
 _Just gonna have a shower. Wish you were here _  
 _me too. Can’t wait to see you._  
 _promise me we’ll never go to bed mad at each other._  
 _I promise._  
 _talk to you later?_  
 _sure. Love you._  
 _LYTTMAB._  
(love you to the moon and back).

At 1pm, Stephen sent her a picture of him with a puppy face and a little chicken thigh.   
_The chicken and I miss you_  
She sent him back a photo of herself. She looked really tired.   
_Danielle tried on more than 30 outfits. This will guarantee me a place in Heaven_  
 _No doubts. I’m so curious about what you’ll wear tonight_  
 _wait and see, love_  
 _looking forward to take whatever it is off you_  
 _and what are you going to do to me afterwards?_  
 _I’ll caress every inch of your body until you twist in pleasure_  
 _and then?_  
 _then I’ll kiss you in places I’m sure you’ve never been kissed_  
 _and…?_  
 _I’ll devour your nipples while I use my fingers to take you to Paradise_  
 _Jesus, this is hot_  
 _You are hot_  
 _I want to make love to you so much right now_  
 _God, this is not the most convenient conversation when I’m in the middle of a canteen._  
 _because…_  
 _Because my eagerness to see you is now visible_  
 _I’d be so glad to massage your… eagerness_  
 _Not helping…_  
 _it’s the truth, though._  
 _when are you coming back?_  
 _No idea._  
 _hope it’s soon_

It was then 4pm when Danielle and Emily got ready to come back, but there was a lot of traffic and the screening started at 7. 

_we’re stuck in a traffic jam_ , she texted Stephen.   
_dammit…_  
 _We may be late_   
_I’ll tell the organizers_  
 _thanks, babe_

At 5pm Stephen sent her a picture of himself getting dressed. He was wearing black trousers and a white shirt, but is was unbuttoned, so his chest was uncovered.   
_are you going like this to the screening?_ , she asked him.   
_no way. This is just for you._   
_you’d look great. And there would be massive faints, just so you know._  
 _I’m only interested in you fainting. Still stuck?_  
 _I’m afraid yes_   
_shit._

It was already 7pm and they were about to be called to the stage and start the questions about the crossover. Stephen waited until the very last moment for Emily. He wanted to see before the interview. Suddenly, he saw Danielle and Heaven’s doors opened for him.   
“Hey, where’s Emily? We’re about to go to stage”, he added to conceal his real intentions.   
She looked stressed and she was adjusting her hair a bit.   
“Oh, she’s still getting ready. She’ll be here in a minute”, she answered.   
He was about to to go and look for her, when he was called to go out. David had been the first one, then Stephen (who left a free seat for Emily). Once everyone was on their seats, Emily went out and she said she was in the toilet. When Stephen saw her walking towards him, it was like an epiphany: there she was, the woman of his life, the woman of his universe.   
“You look nice”, he said out loud.   
She smiled and sat down, not wanting to get any more attention.   
She was wearing black shorts that showed her beautiful legs, a black shirt and a grey jacket. It was simple but it looked hot on her. Actually, for Stephen Emily was hot even in her pyjamas. He moved his chair a bit to be closer to her. He spent the whole time staring at her legs. In fact, she caught him looking at her several times and their eye conversation always ended up with a smile. Nevertheless, he’s the not the only guilty one: Emily stared at his package way too long multiple times, and he was aware of it.   
After what seemed like ages for him, the crossover event was over. Now the whole cast was supposed to be headed to a restaurant all together and have fun. Then, when they were on their way out, Stephen approached Emily and whispered in her ear:   
“I can’t wait till we get to the hotel”.  
Emily licked her lips and replied: “Come with me”   
He followed her. He had no idea where they were going, but he didn’t care: he followed her anyway. Eventually, he realized they were in the room she and Danielle had used as their dressing room. She locked the door and when she turned to face him, Stephen is already by her side and kissed her wildly, embedding her against the door. He kissed her fervently on her face, her lips, her eyes, her neck, her collar bone… Their groans could be heard everywhere. Emily took Stephen’s jacket off and his hangers and after that she unbuttoned his shirt. Once his chest was revealed, she caressed it softly with her hands and gave little kisses out on it. Stephen helped her take her jacket off and she got rid of her high heels, becoming considerably shorter, which made him grin and lean even more to be able to kiss her. She unbuttoned her shirt and he did so with his trousers. Very fast, she made her shorts disappear.   
At the same time, everyone is looking for Stephen and Emily to go to the restaurant. Danielle decided to go to their dressing room since Emily might have forgotten something.   
Stephen kissed her belly and thighs and she entangled her hands in his hair, letting her go. Then she caught him by the hair and made him stand up. She bit his lip fiercely and asked: “got a condom?”  
Stephen took his wallet from his jacket and opened one. Then, his carried her, holding her by her legs and embedded her against the door every time he got inside her.   
Danielle heard something weird and approached the door but when she tries to open it, it moves, as if something was pushed against it very hard.   
“Emily?”  
Inside, Stephen and Emily froze. She opened her eyes.   
“Are you ok?”  
Stephen separated them from the door.   
“Yeah”, she managed to say, out of breathe.   
He carried her to the table, throwing everything to the floor. Once she was sat on it, he went inside again as strong and wild as before.   
“Are you ok? We were looking for you and Stephen to go to the restaurant”.   
“I-I’m… okay”, she replied loud enough to be heard, trying to hide her moans.   
Stephen then began to lick her nipples.   
“Ok, so hurry up. We’ll wait for you in the entrance. Do you have any idea where Stephen is?”  
“Ah… “, she groaned.   
Danielle frowned. “Emily? Are you sure you’re ok?”  
She swallowed hard. “I haven’t… seen him”, she said, both staring at each other.   
“Ok, hurry up”.   
The table shook everytime they got together. At the end, they came and she rested on him, hugging each other and trying to catch their breath.   
“I have another condom…”, he murmured.   
Her eyes widened. “But the dinner-  
“Fuck the dinner”, he answered and she laughed as he kissed her again.   
“We need to argue more frequently, Mr Amell”, she sentenced, making him grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there was a huge debate on whether the "you look nice" was something Stephen said or it was a fan's sentence. I prefer to think it was Stephen's. It's what my trashy heart asks for :)


	13. Chapter 13

Some days later, once they were back on their daily lives, Emily decided to call Stephen’s mum (Karen) and to meet her. It was about time and now she had run out of excuses. They went to a cafe near set and that was very sweet of his mum. Emily had a black tea and Karen had a coffee.  
“So tell me, how is the show going? Can you tell me any spoiler?”  
Emily shrugged. “Um… Well, things between Felicity and Oliver are quite messy these days”.  
Karen sighed. “You know what? I’ve always shipped them. And deep down I knew the chemistry I saw on tv was beyond the show”.  
Emily smiled shyly. “So you were right”, she replied as she took her cup of tea.  
Then, Stephen’s mother grabbed her arm and pointed at something.  
“It looks bad. Have you been to the doctor?”  
“It’s just a mole, it appeared some years ago”.  
Karen took a sip. “I’d feel much calmer if you went to see the doctor. I’m not saying it’s something bad, but just in case”.  
Emily realized she was really concerned about her.  
“But I am fine, honestly”.  
“Yeah, so was I until one day I heard that I was sick and I had cancer”.  
Emily knew about that, Stephen had told her, but she wasn’t ready to talk about it. She felt so bad for her.  
“I’m so sorry…”  
“Now I’m good, thanks God”  
“Stephen must have gone through a lot”, Emily remarked.  
“Oh, yes. It was horrible for him. I hated seeing him so miserable. But now that’s gone and trust me when I say that I would never like to see him like that again”.  
There was no point in keeping on arguing.  
“Ok, I’ll go to the doctor”.  
Karen smiled kindly and stirred her coffee.  
“Tell me, what do you like the most about my son?”  
Emily was in shock. Was that a tricky question? Was there a right answer?  
“I don’t know, I had never thought of it”.  
“But if you had to choose something about him, what would it be?”  
Emily considered the question and then replied: “What I like the most is when he smiles and I know for sure that it is a true smile, that he’s really happy. And that makes me happy too”.  
Karen grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “I hadn’t seen him so happy since Mavi was born. You make him happy, Emily, and I cannot do anything but love you for that”.  
The blond girl’s heart melted and smiled gently.  
“Thank you”.  
When Emily got home, Stephen was making dinner. She approached him, kissed him briefly and went to their bedroom to put on some more comfortable clothes.  
“Whoa”, she exclaimed in surprise: Mavi was there, inside her portable crib. She leaned on the crib and caressed her cheek. “Hello princess”.  
“Mavi’s with us tonight?”, she asked when she came back to the kitchen.  
“Yeah, Cassandra wanted to go out with her friends”.  
Emily remained silent for a while. She hesitated, not sure if she had to ask the question, but she finally did.  
“Did she sign the divorce?”  
Stephen shook his head. “Not yet”.  
She leaned on the wall, next to him, and crossed her arms. “And what the hell is she waiting for?”  
Stephen looked at her a bit surprised and worried at the same time.  
“Sorry… It’s just that… Gosh, it seems as if she was waiting for you to change your mind”.  
“I don’t think so…”  
She rolled her eyes. “I hope so”.  
Then, he tried to change the topic and cheer her up.  
“We could hang around tomorrow afternoon”.  
She sighed. “Ahg, I can’t, I have a doctor appointment. I forgot to tell you”.  
He frowned. “Doctor? How come?”  
She pointed at her mole.  
“This. Your mum said she’d feel better if a doctor checked on me, so that’s what I’m gonna do”.  
He started to peel carrots as he talked.  
“She’s extremely concerned about these things since her cancer”.  
Emily nodded. “I’ve noticed. But it’s quite normal and understandable. And for me going to the doctor is not a big deal, so if she’s going to be happier, then I’m in”.  
Stephen stopped peeling and kissed her briefly.  
“Thank you, Em”.  
Emily remained silent for a couple of minutes.  
“How was it?”, she asked and given his confused face, she added: “The Cancer”.  
He considered the question and then replied.  
“Frustrating. Seeing your mum get worse each day and that there’s nothing you can do about it… It’s one of the worst things in the world”.  
Emily was playing with her hands. She was a bit nervous.  
“And… do you know if this is something genetic? Because I mean… sometimes cancers and illnesses are genetic and children inherit it from their parents and sometimes they don’t…”  
Stephen looked at her worried. He knew she was concern about him. That she didn’t want him to live the same hell as his mum. But he didn’t have an answer.  
“No, I don’t. I chose not to do the tests”.  
She tilted her head. “Can I ask why?”  
He shrugged. “If I’m most probably to have cancer at any point in my life, I don’t want to know it. Otherwise, I’d feel scared for the rest of my life. Knowing that this fucking sickness can visit me anytime would make me feel anxious. I would probably change my lifestyle and try to avoid it and prevent it from happen. And I don’t want that. I don’t want cancer or any illness to control my life, to dictate my actions”.  
Emily massaged his back with her right hand. And then she realized how much she looked up to him. But I guess that what love or any kind of close relationship is about: admiring each other. Most of the times you need to admire someone to love them. There’s no love if you do not value and appreciate what the other does or thinks or says.  
Then they had dinner peacefully, they talked about a million things and they went to sleep. But that night Mavi had a nightmare and started crying, waking everyone up. Emily was not used to this, so she jumped in bed. She looked everywhere, not sure about what was happening until she realised it was Mavi. Then she heard Stephen make a weird noise and she knew he was awake.   
“Your daughter’s calling you”, she murmured resting on bed again.   
He shook his head. “I’d say she’s clearly saying ‘Emily’, so..”   
They remained silent and then, everytime Mavi cried, Stephen mirrored the sound and said: “Eeemily”.   
She laughed and caressed his hair.   
“You win”. Then she could see a grin on his face.   
“But only because she’s great and she doesn’t deserve such a bad father”.   
He nodded as if pretending to pay attention to her.   
“Sure...”  
She smiled and got up still staring at him. Then she leaned on the crib and Mavi raised her arms.   
“Hey, little princess, what happened?”, she asked her picking her up. “Did yu have a nightmare? Damn that stupid monster, though I shouldn’t be saying that ugly word, right?”  
Stephen sat up and looked at them and a huge smile grew on his face.   
Emily was swinging so that Mavi fell asleep.   
“Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are”, Emily began to sing. “Up above the world so high, like a diamong in the sky”.  
Stephen listened to her fascinated. He had heard her sing several times, but that time was special: she was singing for his daughter. She was being such a great ‘mother’.   
Finally Mavi fell asleep and Emily placed her inside the crib again. When she turned around, she saw Stephen staring at her.   
“What?”  
He tapped the bed. “Come here”.   
She ran to bed and they snuggled to sleep.   
Then he kissed her head and whispered: “I love you”.   
She smiled. “Love you too”. 

However, this happiness didn’t last long. Next morning, Stephen got a call from his lawyer, Tom.   
“Hey buddy, what’s up?”, Stephen answered.   
He was hoping he had good news.   
“Hi Stephen”.   
Stephen knew immediatelly something was wrong.   
“Woah, you don’t sound happy. What’s wrong?”  
“I need to talk to you. Cassandra’s lawyer called me”.   
Stephen turned impatient. “What did she say?”  
“Cassandra is not going to sign the papers”.   
Stephen’s anger grew. “What the hell...”  
“She says it wouldn’t be good for her professionally speaking”  
Stephen couldn’t believe what he was hearing.   
“This is insane..”  
“I was wondering that maybe you could talk to her and make her come to her senses”, Tom added.   
“Thank you, Tom. I will”.   
He would have liked to speak with Cassandra at that very moment but A) he had to go to set, B) he was mad and nothing good could happen out of it and C) Cassandra would probably be sleeping. So he went to set with Emily and Mavi. He pretended everything was ok and, apparently she bought it. The day passed by, but he wasn’t focued. He wanted to talk to Cassandra, which he did at night, after shooting, when he took Mavi back to Cassandra.   
She was eating popcorns in the sofa.   
Stephen left Mavi on the floor, in the corner where she had her toys and then turned to Cassandra.   
“Tom called me. You haven’t signed the documents for the divorce”.   
Cassandra didn’t bother to look at him.   
“He’s right, I haven’t”.   
He looked down. “He said it’s because of your professional future”.   
She put some more popcorns in her mouth. “Aha”, she replied.   
“That’s why you married me? Is that what you’ve always seen in me? Money? Opportunities?”, he asked rasing his voice.   
Suddenly she faced him. “How can you throw it in my face¿ You, you who are leaving me behind overnight?”   
He laughed bitterly. “Our marriage was dead long ago, Cassandra, don’t play victim with me”.   
She remained silent for a few seconds and then add: “Anyway, I’ve heard the CW doesn not approve the divorce, so let’s be good kids, shall we?”  
She had a grin on her face and in that very moment he saw it all, and deception couldn’t be greater.   
“Please, tell me they haven’t offered you a part if you don’t sign the divorce”.   
Cassandra looked down.   
He nodded slowly. “Well, then I’m sure whatever show you’re doing is going to be great and lots of people are gonna love your performance. After all, you’re such a good actress that you made me believe you loved me. See how much I bought it, that I even married you and we had a baby together”.   
“Shut up”, she murmured.   
He shook his head. “When we split up, you said that you loved me to the four winds, but you know what? If you truly loved me, you’d let me be free and you’d want me to be happy”.   
Cassandra didn’t say a word and he knew that was the moment to get her back.   
“Cassandra, please, I know the girl I fell in love with is still somewhere. And she wouldn’t do this...”  
He put his jacket on and left. You think you know someone and then, one day it’s as if they were a completely different person. How can that be possible? How can that happen? Do we ever get to know a person?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!! 
> 
> I'm on holidays and so I'm travelling a bit, that's why I haven't posted in a while.   
> But here you have a little something which I really hope you like. 
> 
> Thank you again for your support :) 
> 
> Sara


	14. Chapter 14

Emily and Italia were just leaving the doctor now. Italia had agreed on going with Emily to see if everything was ok. It turned out there was no problem at all. She could breathe then. They were going to grab a coffee before coming back home when Italia gave her such an amazing piece of news.   
“By the way… I need to tell you something”, Italia started.   
Emily panicked. “OMG, you’re pregnant!”  
Italia frowned amused. “No!! That’s insane… not now”.   
Emily laughed. “Ok, ok, so then what’s up?”  
Italia smiled shyly. “Well… Robbie and I are getting married”.   
Emily stopped in the middle of a pedestrian crossing, in shock.  
“What?”  
Italia took her by her arm and made her move to the other side of the road.   
“Yes! He proposed and… I said yes!”  
Finally processing the information, Emily smiled and hugged her friend.  
“God, that’s amazing! I’m so happy for you, love!”   
Italia hugged her too, glad. “I know, right?”   
Then Emily remembered something. “And where is the ring?”   
Italia flashed a smile and raised her hand, where her beautiful diamond ring was. Emily grabbed her hand and examined the ring closely.   
“Man, it’s really beautiful!”  
Italia nodded. “It is, isn’t it?”   
“I can’t believe you two are getting married! Now we’ll have to look for a dress and prepare everything”, Emily realized.   
Italia rolled her eyes. “That’s the part I’m scared of”.   
Emily squeezed her hand. “Oh, come on! Fearless is your surname, remember?”  
Italia chuckled. “Yeah…”  
As soon as Emily got home, she approached Stephen, who was watching a hockey match. She kissed him briefly and then stood right in front of tv.   
“Can you believe Italia and Robbie are getting married?”, she told him visibly surprised, happy and amused.   
“Yeah, Robbie told me a few days ago”, he replied moving his head so he could see tv, but Emily was still in the middle.   
“So you knew and you didn’t tell me anything?”  
He shrugged. “It was their secret, not mine”.   
She grinned. “Then what’s the point in dating Stephen Amell if I don’t have any benefits?”  
She was expecting him to keep on joking with her, but much to her surprised, he answered quite harsh.   
“Emily, please, I’m trying to watch hockey, can we discuss this later?”  
She realized she was preventing him from watching the television. “Oh, sorry”, she said going to one side. And then, he focused on the match. She found his attitude weird and deep down she knew something was wrong, but eventually she decided that maybe he was just too interested in the match. After all, Stephen was a huge sport man.   
“I went to the doctor”, she said trying to sound casual at the same time she sat next to him.  
This time, he did look at her. “What did he say?”  
She smiled. “We have nothing to worry about. I’ll call your mother tomorrow to let her know”.   
He squeezed her knee and smiled briefly. “Good”.   
Emily was sure that she could have told him she was dying that he would have answered the same. But again, she decided not to blame it on him and be patient.   
Later that night, Emily’s phone rang. It was Fanta.   
_Twitter NOW_   
Emily opened her app and checked her mentions in Twitter. Suddenly, she realized everyone was talking about one thing: a picture of Emily and Stephen holding hands on the street. Her mouth dropped. She was sitting next to Stephen on the sofa and tapped his leg.   
“The apocalypse is here”, she said and so he took her phone and opened his eyes widely. It was from one of their few walks together and from one of the short moments they showed their love. How much he hated paparazzi…  
“What do we do now?”  
Stephen gave her the phone again, switched off tv and stood up. “We should go to sleep, it’s late and tomorrow we have to work”.   
Emily blinked twice. “Stephen, I think you didn’t see the same as me, did you? We got caught!”  
Stephen looked at her and pressed his lips. “Is there anything we can do right now to fix it?”  
She shook her head. “Then, do not overthink it and let’s sleep. Tomorrow we’ll deal with it”.   
She remained on the sofa while he went to their bedroom. She couldn’t be more shocked. What the hell was wrong with Stephen?   
The next day everything got worse on set. Most people looked at them weirdly and some of them even asked them, but Emily and Stephen simply smiled innocently.   
“What the fuck is this?”, Willa asked them showing them her phone when she saw them coming.   
“A phone?” Emily said, but nobody laughed.   
“It’s not such a big deal”, Stephen murmured. “Holding hands is not that compromising, it depends on the context”.   
Willa rolled her eyes. “When half the world ships you in real life, trust me, it is a big deal”.   
Stephen was about to reply, but Marc called them. They looked at each other and began to move towards him. Emily could notice how tense Stephen got. She knew there was something off with him and she didn’t want him to screw it up with Marc or the CW.   
“I saw that photo, so I’m sure EVERYONE saw it. What are you playing at?”  
Stephen crossed his arms over his chest. “Marc, let me explain this to you again. I am going to get divorced whether you like it or not. It is my life, not yours. And if that photo annoys you, then it is your problem, because I’m fine with it. Plus, I think we’ve been quite good till now. Maybe we should go out and kiss. Yeah, let’s do it, for fuck’s sake!” he said and then began to leave, but he turned around just to say: “Ah, and if this causes you any trouble, fire me. As simple as that. I’ll never let a tv network rule my life”.  
And he left. Emily felt Marc’s eyes on her. “Don’t fire him, he’s not serious”.   
Marc breathed out. “Em, I don’t like this situation”.   
“Well, I don’t like war and yet countries keep on doing it”.   
Marc got a poker face.   
“What I mean is I understand your point, but you need to understand ours. We are in love. We are young and we are dying to be able to go out and show our love in public freely. And the way to get that is by Stephen getting divorced. So as soon as that is fixed, you won’t stop us”, she claimed and left to her trailer. She had no idea where Stephen was and, honestly, she didn’t want to know. He must be mad and she didn’t feel like having an argument. She took her phone and went through her mentions on Twitter. Generally speaking everyone was happy that they appear to be together, which made her optimistic. But she couldn’t relax. She found Stephen an hour later when they had to shoot. Nevertheless, they didn’t talk about their talk with Marc. In fact, they didn’t bring it up again. Even on their way back home, inside the car, they remained silent. Not until she overheard Stephen talking on his phone that night did she understand what was going on. She was supposed to be in the shower, but she forgot her towel and when she came back to her room, she heard him.   
“No, she doesn’t want to. I know, but what do you want me to do? Put a gun on her chest so she signs? Yeah… Apparently the CW has offered her some role. Yes. I don’t really know. I’ll keep trying. Ok. Talk to you soon”.   
And then everything clicked. Cassandra didn’t want to sign the contract. He was miserable because of her. Faster than the wind, she forgot about the towel and dressed up again. She put on some clothes and took her bag.   
“Where are you going this late?” Stephen asked her worried.   
“Colton is waiting for me, he needs to talk urgently”, she improvised.   
He looked confused, but he knew their friendship was strong, so he nodded and kept watching tv.   
The thing was she wasn’t meeting Colton; she was driving to Stephen’s house to pay his wife a visit. It was very late, but luckily, Cassandra was still up. When she opened the door, her mouth dropped.   
“How dare you come to MY house?”, she asked looking at Emily as if she was the devil.   
She shook her head. “No, how dare you make Stephen’s life so miserable? “   
Emily was still at the door, outside.   
“I just came to tell you that I pity you”, Emily began. I am really sorry for you and I feel bad for you. You may not sign the divorce, get the house, Mavi, get roles… That’s fine. But you will end up alone, all by yourself. And when you’re old and you have no one by your side, you’ll remember what you are doing now and you’ll think ‘why was I such a bitch?’”.   
Emily could see a change in Cassandra’s attitude. She would even say she felt embarrassed.   
“Stephen doesn’t deserve this. Mavi doesn’t deserve this”, Emily said. Then, she took Cassandra’s hand in hers. “Cassandra, you can still show you’re a good person. You still have a chance to do things right.”   
Both were silent, Cassandra looking down. Emily let her hand go and grabbed her car keys.   
“Thank you for your time, I hope I didn’t waste mine”, She said and left.   
What do you do when the love of your life is sad and miserable? What do you do when you know something is hurting him? What do you do when you know he is in pain? You fight. And that was what Emily had done.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the looooong wait! Hope this makes it up to you all :) 
> 
> Thanks for readings :) 
> 
> love you <3 
> 
> S.

It’s been some days since the night Emily talked to Cassandra. Things had been complicated at home: Stephen was really apathetic and so, Emily felt disheartened. She didn’t know what else she could do to cheer him up. She had tried everything, but nothing worked out. Their relationship had been on stand-by those days.   
It was Thursday morning. Stephen was preparing breakfast while Emily finished getting ready. When she went to the kitchen, there was a burnt smell. She realized it was the toasts.   
“Either you’re thinking too much or the toasts are getting burnt”, she joked, bringing him back to earth.   
“Oh shit…”, he said picking the toasts and throwing them to the bin, making a face.   
She got closer to him and put her hand on his chest.   
“Don’t worry, it’s the perfect excuse for you to invite me to have breakfast out”, she said with a big smile on her face.   
“I don’t have time, I’m meeting David to work out”, he replied, drinking a glass of orange juice. “ I’ll eat something on set”.   
He kissed her cheek briefly and left. She was then by herself.   
“Love you too…”, she murmured into the silence. 

Later that day, Stephen was on his trailer, trying to take a nap since he hadn’t slept well that night. He was lying on the couch, looking up to the ceiling. Suddenly, someone opened the door and came in abruptly. He sat up and his eyes widened. It was Cassandra.   
“I’m not in the mood to have a fight, Cassandra”, he said as a greeting.   
“I didn’t come here to fight”, she replied handing him some papers over.   
He had a look at it: it was the divorce papers.   
“They’re signed”, he muttered.   
“Why would I come here and give them you if they weren’t?”  
Stephen stood up, tears in his eyes and grabbed her by her elbows.   
“Thank you…”  
She smiled and caressed his cheek.   
“Thank Emily, not me”, she admitted.   
Stephen frowned.   
“What do you mean?”  
“She came home to talk to me. And, as you can see, it worked”.   
He smiled and left the trailer as fast as he could and went to Emily’s.   
“Em!”, he screamed when inside, but she wasn’t there. He went to one of the sets running.   
“Hey, Willa! Have you seen Emily?”  
Willa shook her head. “She was in the canteen before, but I don’t know now…”  
“Thanks!”, he told her and kept on running to the canteen. Colton was having a coffee there, but Emily was nowhere to be seen.   
“Colton, where’s Em?”   
He frowned. “She just left for McDonalds, she wants an ice-cream”.  
Stephen thanked him and ran to the entrance of set. He was sweating a lot, but he’d worry about that later. Finally, he saw her crossing a street on her way to McDonalds.   
“Emily!”, he shouted, making her stop and turn around.   
She saw him coming to her running and, once he reached her, he took her and flew aroung, hugging her. Emily laughed.   
“What’s going on? Have we won the lottery?”   
He placed her on the ground again and smiled, heavily breathing.   
“She signed”, he said and it was all it took for Emily to understand his happiness.   
“WHAT?! Oh my God!”   
She hugged him tight and so did he.   
“Thank you”, he said kissing her lips.   
“Me? I have nothing to do with it, Stephen”.   
He grinned. “She told me you talked to her. I don’t know what you told her, but it made her change her mind somehow”.   
Emily nodded. “Good. It was about time something good happened”.   
“you know what? Let’s celebrate this!”   
She grabbed his arm as they started to walk towards McDonalds.   
“Great idea. What’s the plan?”  
He grinned. “The plan is… come home around eight”.   
She tilted her head.   
“That’s it?”   
He nodded. “Yep. You’ll know more later…”   
“I’m in as long as it means sex, lot of sex”, she said with a dirty look.   
Stephen smiled mischievously. “Count on it”.   
“Deal”, she agreed.   
Then, just before entering McDonalds, they separate from each other and kept a meter between them. But this time they didn’t feel bad for it because very soon they’d be able to show their love in public.

That evening, Emily was about to leave set with Colton when she got a message: 

Come when you wish

Given her smile, Colton asked her.   
“Does it have to do with Stephen?”   
She nodded. “We’re gonna celebrate that Cassandra signed the divorce tonight”.   
Colton grabbed her by the arm.   
“Am I smelling… sex?”, he asked pretending to be sniffing at.   
“Positive. He’s preparing a surprise for me”.   
“So… I want details tomorrow”.   
Emily smiled. “Absolutely”.   
They said goodbye and then she got on her car. Twenty minutes later, she was at home. Everything was dark, except for some candles around the apartment. She left her jacket and bag and began to follow the candles. As she walked, she saw different clothes: his t-shirt, his trousers, his socks, his boxers… And then she stopped on the door of their bedroom. What would happen when she got inside? Very slowly she opened the door: Stephen was on their bed, completely naked. His body looked even better under the light of the candles.   
“Take off your clothes”, he ordered.   
She smiled and did as he said. First her tank top, then her jeans. She took her time with her bra and pants. Stephen watched her with pleasure. His mouth was getting dry and his masculinity was starting to show. When Emily was totally naked, he took two baskets from under the bed and told her to come to bed with him.   
“What’s this?”, she asked.   
“It’s a game”.   
In the red basket there were parts of the body written in pieces of paper and in the blue one, verbs such as bite, lick or caress. In turns, they would pick a paper from each basket and comply with it.   
“This is gonna be funny”, she murmurs.   
“Me first”, he said. He read the two pieces of paper: caress + lips.  
Emily waited impatiently until he looked at her and rub his thumb through her lips. He wanted to kiss them, but he had to wait. Emily opened her mouth, enjoying his touch. Then she picked her two words: bite nipples. She giggled.   
“You would have loved this one”, she said as she pushed him towards the bed, making him lay down. She bent down and bit his nipples softly, noticing how hard they got.   
“This has become my favourite game”.   
Stephen read his order: kiss thighs. He made her lay down and open her legs a little. He took the liberty of starting behind her knees and then he went up, slowly, very slowly. Emily threw her head back and closed her eyes, feeling his lips and his breath on her skin. When he got to the top, right next to her forbidden fruit, she pressed her feet and she grasped the pillow with her hands.   
“Uhm…”, she moaned.   
Stephen slid on her, brushing his chest against her breast, and kissed her fiercely, but she ended the kiss very fast.   
“Not yet, keep on playing”, she told him and he remembered the game.   
She sat up, caressed his face and picked her two words: lick dick.   
“Oh gosh…”   
He frowned. “What’s wrong?”  
She grinned. “Shut up and lay down”.   
She leaned down. First, she caressed his masculinity, which was quite hard already. Then, she licked it on its base, tasting it. After that brief warm-up, she pulled her hair back and introduced the whole thing inside her mouth, moving slowly. Stephen tangled his hand in her hair and let himself enjoy that moment. However, when he realized he was about to come, he made her stop, out of breath.   
“Are you ok?”, he whispered in her ear.   
She shivered. “I’m with you, I’m more than ok”, she replied. Suddenly, she hugged him and kissed his neck.   
“Stephen… I want you…”  
He threw the baskets off the bed and hugged her back. They were sitting on the bed, Emily on top of him, with legs around his hip. He began to massage her boobs as bit her earlobe. She was getting hotter. They got even closer, they didn’t want any distance between them.   
“Stephen…”, she murmured with such an intoxicating voice that turned him on.   
Stephen abandoned her breast and introduced two fingers inside her. She groaned, surprised. He moved his fingers at a quick pace, noticing how wet she was. After several movements, she stopped his hand.   
“I’ll come any moment…”, she warned him.   
Thus, he kissed her and took his fingers out of her, only to replace them with his cock. They both moved at the same time. Their pace was increasing, until they were out of breath and the only sound in the room was their sobs. She rubbed her breast against him. Stephen felt her nipples hard, as hard they hurt.   
“Ah…”, he heard her.   
Her moans aroused him, which make him charged her even stronger.   
“I’m coming…”, he said when he couldn’t wait any longer.   
“One second…”, she said, in need of more time.   
Then he tried something: while he was still inside her, moving, he introduced his fingers in her anus, which made her jump a bit. It was the first time he did that, but she kind of liked it. She felt complete both ways. She felt something growing inside her, something unstoppable, something out of this world.   
“Stephen….!” She screamed when she came.   
They both relaxed against each other.   
“If this is your divorce sex, I can’t wait for our wedding sex”, she joked and he wondered how she could have the energy to joke in that moment.   
Stephen licked her lips, which made her open her mouth and they entangled their mouths.   
“Why wait?”, he asked.   
Emily smiled by his indecent proposal.   
“Are you serious?”  
Stephen pushed her to bed and sat above her.   
“Get ready because I’m gonna make you sweat”.   
Emily chuckled facing the best night of sex ever.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!! 
> 
> So sorry it took me this long to post another chapter. I'm really, really sorry.  
> Anyway, thanks for your support and I hope you like it :)

Next morning, Emily woke up and she remembered the reason they had had such an amazing night: Cassandra had signed the papers. She couldn’t be happier. She got up carefully not to wake up Stephen. She wanted to let him sleep a bit more. He deserved it. Then, she began to prepare her breakfast when she saw her calendar. Suddenly she realised she should already have her period, but it wasn’t the case.  
_Oh my God… what if I am…?_ But she preferred not to think about it. It had to be a mistake, that was all. In that moment, she heard Stephen in the bathroom and some minutes later he showed up in the kitchen.  
‘Morning…’ he said a bit sleepy and then he kissed her briefly.  
‘Hey, babe’, she answered with a smile. ‘did you sleep well?’  
‘Better than ever. I am almost divorced and you are by my side. What else can I ask for?’  
‘Well, we are still in trouble with the CW, you know…’  
Stephen shrug his shoulders. ‘I don’t care. Today I’m going to publish in my FB that I’m getting divorced’.  
Her eyes widened. ‘So soon?’  
‘Why waiting?’  
‘Dunno…’  
He took his laptop and turned it on. ‘I could really use some help with the FB announcement’.  
So they sat there, having breakfast and writing the divorce post at the same time. Finally, it was as follows: 

_Hello Facebook! As yoy may already know, I like being honest, so I have something to confess: my wife Cassandra and I are getting divorced. I have spent some wonderful years with her and I don’t regret them at all, but sometimes love ends and there is nothing you can do about it. We will always be linked since we have the most special thing in common: a daughter. She will always be loved by us and we will try to keep on being a family for her. We still love each other so much, but it is not the same kind of love anymore. Thus, we have decided to drive apart. I hope you all can understand that.  
Love you all. Stephen. _

***  
That evening Emily was meeting Italia to celebrate. So many people were please Stephen was finally getting divorced and Italia was definitely was of them. She had never liked Cassandra and she had always thought she was only interested in Stephen for his money and fame.  
‘Now that he has announced his divorce you just have to take another step: tell the world that you love each other!’  
Emily smiled. ‘Well, we’ll have to wait a bit. We don’t want the situation to be awkward, you know…’  
‘Yeah, I understand. Well, I have news for you too’, Italia began.  
Emily approached her. They were in a pub, so she came closer to hear her since the music was too loud.  
‘Surprise me’.  
‘Robbie told me he wants to have a kid’.  
Emily covered her mouth with her hands, totally shocked.  
‘Oh Gosh… that is great!’  
‘It is, right? I don’t know if it’s the right moment, though’.  
‘Why not?’  
‘Well, I’d like to do everything right. So first I’d like to get married and then the kids can come’.  
‘I know what you mean, but sometimes reality is a bit different from what we planned…’, she said, reflecting and thinking of her period.  
Italia realized something was off with her.  
‘What’s wrong, Em? What do you mean?’  
She took a deep breath.  
‘I’m late on my period’.  
Italia’s face was unreadable. She was surprised, shocked, but also happy.  
‘Is it true???!!’  
Emily tried to chill her out.  
‘Yes, but it can be a mistake, so…’  
‘Are you usually punctual?’  
‘Clock timing…’  
Italia hugged her. ‘Then you’re pregnant, babe!’  
Emily smiled, though she was quite nervous.  
‘Yeah, I think so… But I don’t get it, we took precautions… we were careful all the time…’  
‘This is a Devine sign, Em’.  
They laughed.  
‘Then I guess you should tell Stephen’, Italia suggested, completely excited.  
‘First I’d like to do a test just to confirm it’.  
‘Yeah, that would be wise’. 

On her way home, Emily bought a test on the drugs store and once she arrived home, she said hi to Stephen and then she went straight to the bathroom. She peed and then she tested it. She waited for a couple of minutes and there it was: she was pregnant. She started crying and when she finally got out of the bathroom Stephen looked at her worriedly.  
‘Em, what’s wrong? Are you ok?’, he asked embracing her.  
She nodded and wiped away her tears.  
‘Babe… I have something to tell you’.  
He was so worried. He feared something wrong had happened to her.  
‘What is it?’  
She smiled softly. ‘I am pregnant’.  
He didn’t know what to say, he wasn’t expecting this at all.  
‘What?’, he finally asked with a grin on his face.  
‘Yeah, have a look’, she said giving his the test.  
He saw it and then he finally reacted. He took Emily in his arms and kissed her.  
‘I can’t believe it, Em’.  
‘Are you happy?’, she asked, a bit afraid of the answer.  
‘More than ever. We have created a life together. There is nothing better’.  
She kissed him again.  
‘I love you, Stephen’.  
‘He kissed her forehead. ‘I love you more’.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there!!  
> So here I am again :)   
> Well, I decided to write this because of two main reasons:  
> 1-The ending of "Another Time, Another Place" was way too sad, we need some happiness.   
> 2- Arrow and Stemily have given me so many feeling lately, that I couldn0t help writing. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this story as much as the previous one. And, as I said the other time, please, I mean no disrespect or harm to Stephen Amell's family. 
> 
> Love, 
> 
> -S


End file.
